Brussels – The European Commission, along with national competition authorities, “constantly monitors the markets, including the oil market and the sale of petrol and diesel, to check for any potential anti-competitive behaviour that our services should investigate,” said the EU Commission’s spokesperson for Competition, Ricardo Cardoso, in a press briefing yesterday (29 September) in response to a question on the unilateral reduction in retail fuel prices announced in Italy by Eni, which other oil companies have since matched. The spokesperson clarified that the Berlaymont is aware of the decision and has no specific comments to make on the matter.
Following Eni and IP, Q8 has also announced 30-day price caps, starting tomorrow, 1 October. The group that manages the company assured that “the price cap will be applied using a modular approach, consistent with the various components that make up the company’s distribution network.” Furthermore, Q8 intends to support service station operators “appropriately to ensure the economic sustainability of the entire supply chain.” This is not merely a temporary measure, given that just in the last few days, following the announcement by Eni, alarm bells have been ringing amongst service station operators, who have highlighted the risk that independent stations may be forced to close down as they are unable to bear the costs of such a measure.
Giorgia Meloni praised Q8’s decision: “I would like to thank Kuwait and the group that operates the refineries in Italy for heeding the Italian government’s appeal to energy companies to cap fuel prices,” said the Prime Minister. “Following the decision by Eni and Socar, today Q8 has sent another important signal of support for Italian households.” The Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, also endorsed this stance, highlighting the creation of “a domino effect that helps households and businesses.” The Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, went on to express the hope that “this action will lead to a reduction in prices,” noting that “these major brands are producers.” The Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, also welcomed the move, describing the operation as “largely positive” and noting that it paved the way “for what other companies – which are now owned by other countries and are, moreover, state-owned – have subsequently done.”
Against this backdrop, however, hauliers sounded the alarm. “Freight transport companies, which ensure the smooth running of the Italian production system every day, refuel at off-network stations” but “oil companies do not apply the discounted price to these refuelling stops, so there is a risk of being penalised once again by high fuel prices,” warned the president of Fai-Conftrasporto, Paolo Uggè. “Not least because, as a result of these price caps at the pump, clients are now demanding rate reductions from hauliers. It’s a real travesty,” he added. Trasportounito’s protest is along the same lines. Even among consumers, despite having welcomed the price cap initiatives, there are those – such as Assoutenti – who are asking to know by how much prices will fall. Furthermore, Codacons and UNC highlight that the initial effects are a fall in fuel prices on motorways, with diesel dropping to just under 2.4 euros per litre and petrol to below 2.2 euros per litre.
In the meantime, therefore, Europe is not commenting but is keeping a close watch. In addition to fuel prices, energy prices are also under scrutiny, as they could soon become a new (significant) bubble. Here too, Eni is leading the way in Europe, announcing that following the price cap on diesel and green energy, “the group will offer, starting from 1 October and to those customers who subscribe to the offer through Plenitude by 24 October, a 30 per cent discount on electricity and gas rates compared with its main fixed-price offer with prices fixed for two years, while also keeping commodity prices unchanged and thus bearing the recent increases in procurement costs.” The company, led by Claudio Descalzi, estimates that this discount “is worth around 100 euros a year on the gas contract and the same for the electricity contract, totalling around 200 euros for customers who choose both supplies.”
And who knows, perhaps in this case too, Eni will lead the way, and others will follow its example: “We hope so, just as we hoped so when Eni launched its first initiative,” says Urso. The prime minister shared the same view, hoping “that the actors who choose to lend a hand will respond to an appeal — naturally, for everyone to do their best within what is possible in a moment of difficulty — and therefore I am satisfied, and I believe it is particularly important, and I thank all those who are trying to make an effort.” For the time being, Enel has announced that its two-year fixed-price ‘Digital Luce’ tariff, at 108 euros/MWh for the energy component, is around 50 per cent lower than the wholesale market price, even when taking into account the offers launched today by competitors. The offer has been available on Enel’s website since April 2026. Compared with the wholesale price for the average Italian household (which consumes 2 MWh per year), it guarantees savings of over 200 euros per year on the electricity component alone. The electricity sold is certified by the Energy Services Operator (GSE) as coming from renewable sources.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
