Arera, Besseghini: “18,600 applications for conciliation service with 13 million euros of compensation”

“Over 440,000 citizens contacted the call center of the Energy and Environment Consumer Desk in 2020 for information on their rights and regulation (including emergency), in 9 cases out of 10 relating to the energy sectors, judging the service positively in 86 % of cases. Just over 18,600 applications were received by the Conciliation Service, 80% relating to electricity and gas “. This was stated by the president of the Arera, Stefano Besseghini in the course of his annual report to the Chamber on the state of services and on the activity carried out by the Authority. The parties, notes the president of the Authority, “reached an agreement resolving the dispute in 71% of the procedures concluded, taking an average of 65 days (from the submission of the application), thus avoiding a wasteful appeal to the judge or even to renounce. to assert their claim. In more than 70% of cases, the procedures were concluded within a maximum of two meetings. The total compensation, ie the algebraic sum of the economic benefit (eg reimbursements, recalculations , waiver of expenses or interest, etc.) obtained from consumers through the agreements. The consumer satisfaction rate is confirmed as 98% “.” Also in 2020, Arera’s enforcement activity played an important role in guaranteeing of the implementation of the regulation despite the conditioning determined by some measures related to the epidemiological emergency from Covid. Most of the concluded proceedings ended with the ascertainment of the responsa and the consequent imposition of sanctions, for a total amount of over € 14 million, intended to finance projects in favor of consumers “. In fact, the action of Arera, Besseghini underlines, “is not limited to the sanctioning aspect but intercepts the payment of indemnities with the prescriptions or with the institution of commitments. The set of interventions determined an advantage for the consumer equal to more than 19 million euros “.