Italy: A land of opportunities

Against all odds, on 19 February the Italian government approved the implementation of the EU Directive to open its electricity market to competition. There are only minor changes compared to the initial version set out in the Bersani Decree on 10 November last year, and ENEL is still obliged to sell 15 GW of capacity by 1 January 2003. Italy is likely to achieve a higher degree of competition than required by the Electricity Directive, and favourable conditions for the development of independent production that reduce the country's dependence on oil for power generation have already attracted a large number of projects by independent operators. Dr. Silvia Pariente-David and Denis Depoux Hagler Bailly Consulting Inc.