How the bill changes with the transition to the free market

Barring last-minute postponements, 2024 should be the exact year for the definitive transition to the free market also for domestic electricity and gas users.
The calendar currently says that in January 2024 it will be the turn of gas users while electricity users will switch to April.
This is a mandatory step because the protected market, the one in which the price was established by ARERA, will cease to exist, unless you fall into one of the protected categories that will be able to continue in the protected market even after the step has expired.
These are those who are over 75 years old, have a low income or serious health conditions, those who live in an emergency housing facility following a natural disaster or those who have a person with a disability in the family unit.
Those who do not belong to these categories will have to move to the free market where the individual managers set the price through the mechanism of supply and demand.
This is an operation that will affect two thirds of domestic users in Italy that are still in the protected market.
Already in recent days many people have received a notice from their electricity and gas supplier, reminding them that from next year the protected market will cease to exist for domestic customers too.
To understand if you are still in this market, just read the latest bill received.
Usually at the top right where the supply number and the name of the supplier are listed, protection service is written on the gas bill and greater protection service is written on the electricity bill.
In this case, therefore, you will have to proceed with finding an active manager on the free market.
It is not always easy to choose the right one, there are many active operators who offer different rates and advantageous promos to incentivize the customer.
The free market offer is certainly more convenient than the protected one and includes discounts, promotions and loyalty points.
read also How to find out if you are in the free or protected market How the bill changes The main change is the tariff applied.
The free market gives greater opportunities to choose taking into account that there is no ARERA to establish the price.
If in the protected market ARERA updated the tariffs every 3 months also taking into account the price of the raw material on the reference markets, with the free market the individual managers vary the tariff based on the market.
However, there are also options with a fixed annual amount.
You no longer pay based on consumption but a fixed monthly amount almost like a subscription.
Then every year, based on consumption, the amount will be updated.
Among the various price items present in the bill, the one relating to the cost of the raw material is very important because it allows us to understand the tariff applied.
Another item to check is marketing costs.
These are two items that change on the free market depending on the manager.
As mentioned, there are fixed rate offers and others at an indexed price.
To understand which is the most convenient for us, we must take into account consumption habits such as whether we use appliances that consume a lot or not.
Based on these aspects we can choose whether a fixed monthly rate that is updated every year is better or one that is affected by the price of the raw material with the risk of seeing increases in the bill but also a drop in price.
read also Free electricity and gas market, the best combined offers