Measures to deal with the energy emergency
In the last two years, Italian municipalities have seen a progressive increase in energy costs, going from an annual average of around 1,8 billion euros (SIOPE data) to an expenditure that has almost doubled. This scenario is amplified by the conflict in Ukraine which led to the instability of the national natural gas system and the consequent need to review its use policies through the adoption of measures aimed at increasing the availability of gas and the planned reduction of consumption. To deal with this crisis, the only immediate measures are related to the containment of consumption and related energy expenses.
At government level, the National Gas Consumption Containment Plan of 06/09/2022 provides for the introduction of temperature limits, daily hours of ignition and duration of the heating period and Ministerial Decree 383 of 6/10/2022 specifies the operating methods of thermal air conditioning systems powered by natural gas in the 2022-2023 winter season, reducing the switch-on period of thermal systems for heating purposes by 15 days and the daily switch-on duration required by the art. by 1 hour. 4 of Presidential Decree n. 74 of 2013, bringing the limits for climate zone E to a maximum of 13 hours per day between 22 October and 7 April.
- Go to the decree Ministerial Decree 383 of 6/10/2022
What is the Municipality of Milan doing?
The Municipality of Milan is included in climate zone E of the art. 4 of Presidential Decree n. 74 of 2013, which provided for a maximum operating time of 14 hours per day for heating systems between 15 October and 15 April, to comply with the legislation, a first ordinance was adopted (ORDS 53 of 18 October 2022), also taking into account that to date the temperatures recorded in Milan by the ARPA Lombardia meteorological stations are above the seasonal average, which applies the reduction of the operating period of combustion thermal systems for heating use, postponing the Switching on October 29th.
- Go to the ordinance ORDS 53 of 18/10/2022
- More information about legislation relating to heating systems
The ordinance issued strengthens the Administration's attention to the protection and quality of the air breathed by citizens given that heating systems for civil use constitute a significant, although not the main, source of emissions of atmospheric pollutants .
- Go to the news of I postpone the turning on of the heaters
After the entry into force of the provision, and starting from the first week of October, the daily values of atmospheric particulate matter were exceeded, as usually happens in the autumn and winter seasons, also due to the unfavorable meteorological conditions typical of the Po Valley which are the frequent occurrence of night-time temperature inversions with consequent stagnation of air pollutants on the ground which triggered the implementation of the first level protocol to protect air quality.
It should be noted that Legislative Decree 383/2022 is applicable only to heating systems powered by natural gas and union ordinance no. 53 of 18 October 2022 postpones the switch-on period for combustion thermal systems only and the current regime for managing thermal systems provides for different times and temperatures depending on the type of system, creating a situation of difficulty in reading the legislation as well as inhomogeneity of treatment.
Therefore it was necessary to standardize the criteria currently in force for the management and control of heating systems in the municipal area by unifying for all systems not only the switching on and off terms but also the operating times and the maximum permitted environmental temperatures.
To this end, a new ordinance ORDS 55 of 26 October 2022 was approved which further postpones the switching on of the systems and more specifically provides for the following operating conditions:
a) the reduction of the exercise period from 3 November 2022 to 7 April 2023
b) operation for a maximum of 13 hours per day between 5am and 23pm of each day, with the exception of heating systems that use radiant panel heating systems embedded in the masonry work
c) reduction of 1°C in the air temperature indicated in the art. 3 paragraph 1 of Presidential Decree no. 74/2013, as perceived by DGR 3502/2020 at point 7 paragraph 1 and by DGR 5360/2021 at point 14 paragraph 1 i.e. 17°C + 2°C tolerance for buildings used for industrial, artisanal and similar activities 19th C + 2°C tolerance for all other buildings.
- Go to the ordinance ORDS 55 of 26/10/2022
Further interventions activated to deal with the energy crisis
The municipal administration has launched an information campaign aimed at citizens and city users, to promote the adoption of sustainable practices and lifestyles and the intelligent use of energy sources.
The initiative began on Tuesday 18 October 100 tips for the environment through the Municipality's newsletter (which reaches around 500 thousand subscribers every day): the campaign is also spread through institutional social channels, including the website Milan Change Air where they can also be viewed:
Starting from November 4th, and for the entire duration of the thermal season, the municipal offices in via Durando, via Bergognone, via Pellico and via Sile will close on Friday so as to prolong the beneficial effect of the shutdown of the systems during the of the weekend.
On the closing day, the work performance of the staff involved may take place, at the employee's choice, in other municipal offices, where the nearworking stations are being strengthened, or in smartworking mode. Workers who provide "non-smartable" services will be placed in other locations or diverted to other activities.
Two other measures taken in agreement with A28A and ATM will also start from Friday 2 October, respectively on public lighting and the temperatures of surface vehicles and the M2 line. In particular, as regards public lighting, the switching period will be reduced by one hour per day, 10 minutes less in the evening and 50 minutes less in the morning. On electric buses, trams and trains on the M2 metro line the temperature will be lowered by 2°C.
In this context, to further limit energy savings, the City Council resolution no. was adopted. 1511 of 21/10/2022 with which theAct of political direction regarding initiatives aimed at tackling the energy emergency with which, following a study prepared by the Polytechnic with A2A and Amat, mandatory and strengthening measures were identified which the Administration will implement throughout the entire duration of the thermal season:
- Implementation of ministerial requirements (DM no. 383 of 6 October 2022)
- Compliance with good practices promoted by MITE
- Municipal strengthening measures with a fair impact on the city
- Initiatives to raise awareness or have a reduced impact on the city
- Additional measures with direct impact on the municipal administration.
As part of the ongoing technical investigations, the electricity consumption data for the last four years of municipal properties were also analyzed and further areas of intervention on the most energy-intensive users were identified.
From these analyses, further measures have been highlighted that can be implemented where possible and with specific timescales to be identified in relation to the state of the systems of the individual buildings:
- groundwater pumps, for which it is possible to reduce the operating hours
- night-time modulation of air conditioning systems and differentiated lighting building by building
- reduction of electrical loads (where possible) on days closed to the public
- relamping distributed to all municipal buildings, in particular in schools, through specific planning of interventions, in the medium and long term, and within the limits of available resources.
These further additional measures, to be adopted progressively especially with reference to municipal users with high electricity consumption, may, over time, lead to further savings both in terms of energy and in economic terms.
Should the energy crisis continue, the Municipality will launch specific roundtables with the Prefecture and the bodies involved, to identify the most effective initiatives to be implemented in the city in order to identify the most suitable measures.
Updated: 24/01/2023