Impact of the enforcement of a time-of-use tariff to residential customers in Italy

Flat tariff has always been the default condition for residential customers in Italy and only starting from July, 1st 2010, the Italian Authority for Electricity and Gas (AEEG) approved the entry into force of a mandatory time-of-use (ToU) tariff at two-part rate periods. In order to assess the impact of the tariff in the short and medium term among Italian customers, R.S.E. has started a research project on residential loads and demand, in collaboration and under the patronage of AEEG. The results of such analysis show that, even if there has been a limited shift of consumptions from peak hours to off-peak hours, the change in the behavior of the users is not negligible. Particular attention has been paid to the possible causes that have contributed to limit the amount of energy shifted from peak hours to off-peak hours and to analyse some possible solutions in order to make the tariff more effective.