Draghi Ready to Intervene Again as Italy’s Power Prices Soar
- Government to use public funds to blunt impact of rising bills
- Move adds to $1.4 billion already spent to offset price hikes
Mario Draghi
Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The Italian government is planning to use public funds to reduce the impact of surging gas prices on consumers’ electricity bills, according to people familiar with the matter.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s administration has already spent about 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) to mitigate the spike in power prices in the second quarter and is set to continue using the same mechanism, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private conversations. That round of intervention cut the increase in electricity prices to 9% compared with 20% before the state stepped in.