Italy's Lombardy to award two hydroelectric plant concessions by 2025

Acea SpA

23/10/2024 17:45

MILAN, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Italy's northern region of
Lombardy will award the concessions for two small hydroelectric
power plants in its territory by the end of next year, the local
administration said on Wednesday.
    The auction, which could open up the capital-intensive
sector to newcomers, has attracted mainly Italian suitors, the
region said.
    Five Italian bidders, including ACEA Produzione  ACE.MI  and
Ascopiave Group  ASCI.MI , and the Italian subsidiary of the
Swiss utility BkW Hydro  BKWB.S  submitted bids for a 4 megawatt
(MW) plant currently run by A2A  A2.MI . 
    Four Italian groups, including ACEA Produzione and the
current operator Edison  EDNn.MI , and Slovakia's Slovenske
Elektrarne are vying for a 19 MW power plant near the city of
Sondrio.
    "There will be a project evaluation, and it will certainly
take months before reaching a conclusion," Lombardy Regional
Councillor for Energy Resources, Massimo Sertori told Reuters
earlier this month.
    Lombardy accounts for 25% of Italy's hydroelectric power
generation, with a total of 70 plants under concession.
    The contracts for the plants managed by Italy's biggest
utility Enel  ENEI.MI  are due to expire in 2029.

 (Reporting by Giancarlo Navach; writing by Alessandro Parodi
and Michela Stasio, editing by Keith Weir)
 ((Alessandro.Parodi@thomsonreuters.com;
Michela.stasio@thomsonreuters.com))