The chairman of Italian utility business Edison has said that he expects supply of energy in the country to exceed demand by the 2007-11 timeframe.
Mr Quadrino’s comments, reported by the AFX news agency, came at the opening of a new 380MW gas-fired power station at Candela, in southern Italy. He said that the threat of supply shortages would be averted by the widespread investment in plant now being made by many energy suppliers in the country.
However, the Edison chairman cautioned that this program of new build and refurbishment of existing infrastructure might not necessarily translate into lower tariffs for end users. Mr Quadrino told those gathered at the plant inauguration that fuel costs – particularly the cost and availability of gas – would play a major role in determining consumer prices.
Edison is currently investing in a number of new build power station projects in Italy intended to help it meet its objective of 14,000MW capacity by 2008.