Investments of around 230 million euro are planned with a positive impact on the area and a significant effect on local GDP. Around 1,900 new jobs are expected to be created in the supply chain.
La Spezia, 29 November 2022 – The contracting authority Municipality of La Spezia officially awarded Italgas the tender for the management of natural gas distribution service in the “La Spezia” Area, which includes the main town and 32 municipalities in the province.
The awarding of the “Atem area”, which currently has about 110,000 customers served, allows Italgas to provide continuity of service management and actively contribute to the efficiency and decarbonization of consumption through investments of about 230 million euro.
The major investment plan will be able to produce a significant effect on local GDP with positive outcomes on employment as well, thanks to the creation of about 1,900 new jobs in the supply chain.
The extension of the service to new territories will also allow important savings in bills that can be quantified at about 218 million euros, over the 12 years of the concession, due to the lower cost of natural gas compared to other fuels used today. Economic advantages in addition to environmental benefits calculated in an overall reduction of atmospheric emissions of about 390,000 tons of CO2 and 6,000 tons of particulate matter.
Among the interventions envisaged in the Italgas plan are:
- the laying of approximately 400 kilometers of new grids and the upgrading of about 40 kilometers of network to reach areas not yet served, in order to make natural gas available to around 9,000 new customers.
- the complete modernization of 100 kilometers of networks, over 400 intermediate plants which will be equipped with monitoring and remote control systems.
- the completion of the plan to replace traditional meters with latest generation meters, so that all customers in the Area will be equipped with them.
Pier Lorenzo Dell’Orco, CEO of the subsidiary Italgas Reti, commented: “The awarding of the Atem area La Spezia is an important result not only for the Company, whose tender offer was judged better than its competitors 2i Rete Gas and Ireti, but also for the territory, which will benefit from important investments for the building of the networks and energy of the future, starting from the first months of 2023: an even more extensive and widespread network able to bring natural gas in areas not yet served and to receive renewable gases such as biomethane and green hydrogen. After the Turin 1 and 2, Valle d’Aosta and Belluno Atem areas, this fifth tender awarded to Italgas raises to more than 1.1 billion euros the total value of planned investments in the territories concerned, confirming the strategic value of gas tenders for the development of the territories and for the important effect on the country’s GDP.”
