EU energy communities policy tracker

In July 2023 the Ministry of Energy and Environment officially setup an Observatory for RECs at ENEA (National Energy and Environment Agency) Link: Osservatorio Comunità Energetiche – SUE

The official and mandatory assessment of barriers and potential for the development of energy communities is still missing.

Ministerial Decree 414/2023 introduced the new premium tariff, implementing the support framework established by Legislative Decree 199/2021, and replaced the previous transitional regime introduced by Law 8/2020. The Decree also set a support quota of 5 GW of capacity eligible for incentives until 31 December 2027.

Member States are required, under the Governance Regulation (2018/1999) to report on their enabling frameworks for RECs by 15 March 2023. The assessment of the Italian NECP (PNIEC) is available on an official website that is periodically updated and includes aggregated data on operating RECs, such as their geographical distribution, installed capacity and number of members. (Link)

Several regions have incorporated energy communities into regional development strategies, identifying them as a tool to tackle energy poverty and promote social cohesion. 

However, energy communities and their potential (e.g., in terms of flexibility) are not currently taken into account in local network planning processes. So far they do not appear to be considered in the forthcoming Renewable Acceleration Areas. 

While the legislation allows Renewable Energy Communities to engage in additional activities (e.g. energy efficiency services, heating and cooling, and electric mobility), dedicated regulatory procedures enabling RECs to operate in these areas have not yet been fully developed.

At present, the regulatory framework has established detailed procedures only for enabling Renewable Energy Communities to generate, store and share renewable electricity among their members, although the calculation method for stored energy under the energy sharing mechanism has not yet been fully clarified.

Several documents must be signed and technical rules fulfilled in order for initiatives to be registered and recognized as RECs. The amount of documentation to be uploaded to the web portal is considerable, and some of the required technical documents are complex to prepare. Ministerial Decree 414/2023 establishes a maximum period of 3 months for the GSE to provide a response to the applications for registration and access to incentives. In order to approve the requests,  the GSE may also require additional documentation.

With Resolution 727/2022 ARERA has provided the definitions and technical rules necessary to implement the different self-consumption schemes (including RECs) and opted for a “virtual” energy sharing model based on hourly time intervals, in order to simplify the calculations. 

The Legislative Decree 2010/20212 (article 24 c. 3, lett c-undecies) establishes that the GSE should monitor the removal of unjustified obstacles and restrictions to the development of self-consumption and Citizens Energy Communities (CECs). 

However, not all the barriers have yet been removed. For example the administrative procedure required to register a REC on the GSE web portal is complex and requires the submission of a significant amount of data, which represents a burden for REC representatives, as considerable time is needed to collect and provide all the required information.

• General (orange)

ARERA Resolution 727/2022 established the technical rules for implementing the current energy sharing model for Renewable Energy Communities in Italy. The model is based on a “virtual” sharing mechanism, whereby electricity is not physically exchanged between members but accounted for through metering data. Energy sharing is calculated on an hourly basis by comparing the electricity produced by the community’s renewable installations with the electricity consumed by its members within the same primary substation area. The amount of electricity considered as “shared energy” corresponds to the minimum between hourly production and consumption and forms the basis for the calculation of the premium tariff incentive.

Recently, the Legislative decree 3/2006 (REDIII transposition) broadened the scope of activities that energy communities may undertake and introduced a more explicit reference to the concept of renewable energy sharing, in line with RED III. This expands the regulatory framework beyond the original model centred on real-time self-consumption, opening the possibility for more flexible forms of allocation and sharing of renewable energy among participants. However, the practical implementation of these provisions will depend on further regulatory and technical rules to be adopted by the relevant national authorities with no specific deadline currently set for their adoption.

• DSO responsibilities (green)

ARERA is required to adopt the necessary measures to ensure that Distribution System Operators (DSOs) cooperate in facilitating, as far as possible and in a simplified manner, the implementation of the provisions on energy sharing. 

In particular, according to Article 32 c. 3, lett b) of Legislative Decree 199/2021, DSOs are required to make available the boundaries of primary substations which define the geographical perimeter within which renewable electricity can be shared.

A comprehensive map of primary substations was first published by GSE in September 2023 and has since then been updated and integrated with the map of existing RECs. Link: https://www.gse.it/servizi-per-te/autoconsumo/mappa-interattiva-delle-cabine-primarie

The Ministry will adopt implementing rules to ensure cooperation between DSOs and the TSO for the development of ECs and active consumers, including with regard to energy sharing and participation in market for energy services (eg, flexibility and ancillary services).

• Incentives (tariff, tax exemptions, etc) (green)

Legislative Decree 199/2021 (art 32, c.3, lett. A) and ARERA Resolution 727/2022 provide for the reimbursement of the transmission network tariff component for the amount of renewable electricity shared within the area served by the same primary substation.

• Supplier obligations (orange)

Currently, members of a REC continue to maintain their individual electricity supply contracts with licensed suppliers, while energy sharing takes place virtually through the metering and settlement mechanisms managed by the GSE and the distribution system operators.

A REC could theoretically operate as a supplier only if it obtained the required supplier licence and complied with all the obligations applicable to electricity retailers, but this possibility is not part of the specific regulatory framework established for energy communities.

Legislative Decree 199/2021 (Art 31,1 d) states that participation in RECs is open to all consumers, including low income and vulnerable households. 

Legislative Decree 210/2021 on Citizen Energy Communities (Art. 11(7)) also refers to vulnerable consumers and specifies that local authorities participating in CECs should adopt initiatives to promote the participation of vulnerable customers, so that they can benefit from the environmental, economic and social advantages provided by the community.

However, in both cases, while participation is formally open to vulnerable consumers, their involvement is not supported by specific regulatory provisions or dedicated financial support measures.

The GSE is the body responsible for providing information, awareness-raising, guidance and training to inform citizens about how to exercise their rights and benefits associated with developing and participating in a Renewable Energy Community. A dedicated web portal is currently available (link) and several webinars have been organized since March 2024 (link).

The GSE provides dedicated support services to public administrations interested in developing Renewable Energy Communities and collective self-consumption schemes (CACER). These services include information and training activities, technical guidance on the regulatory framework and incentive mechanisms, and direct assistance during the early stages of project development. The GSE also organises webinars, workshops and capacity-building initiatives aimed at helping local authorities understand the procedures for establishing energy communities, accessing incentives and managing energy sharing schemes.

Energy communities are mentioned in the 2025 Country Report (link) (albeit only briefly), but not the Country Specific Recommendations.