Let's find out together the PUN index prices for electricity and Pfor, PSV for gas.
Indexes are generally referred to when there are "indexed" offers, that is, offers with variable prices that change periodically according to fluctuations in international and domestic gas and energy markets.
- The PUN (National Single Price) is the reference price of electricity purchased on the exchange; it is generally updated within the first 10 days of the following month. The values are set monthly and made available and published by the Energy Market Operator on its website (www.mercatoelettrico.org).
- The PSV (Virtual Trading Point), organized and managed by Snam Rete Gas, is the main meeting point between supply and demand in the gas market in Italy. This is where the final wholesale price of the raw material is determined. Once this parameter is established, suppliers set the price of the gas raw material component to be charged to end users. The values are set monthly and made available in the first days of the following month.
- The gas PFOR (Supply price to cover natural gas supply costs) until September 30, 2022, represented ARERA's reference for natural gas quotations for clients in the protected market, later replaced by the Italian PSV index. The Pfor index coincides with the TTF QA (the Title Transfer Facility quarter ahead), which is the virtual market in which natural gas is traded on the Dutch platform and represents the European reference market. Specifically, the Pfor price corresponded to the arithmetic average of quarterly OTC forward quotations, at the Dutch TTF hub, taken by ICIS-Heren.
The PFOR was set at the beginning of each quarter based on forward quotations, a term used to refer to the estimated future price over the next 3 months. OTC stands for "over the counter," another term that in financial jargon defines the trading, buying and selling of gas at the TTF that takes place through bilateral contracts between parties, in an unregulated market. Finally, ICIS-Heren is an industry company that collects price information from wholesale markets, including on a daily basis, which it then publishes in a database.
As of October 1 2022 the reference index of the cost of natural gas has been changed for clients under protection; it now refers to the national PSV value and no longer to the European TTF value, with the update monthly and no longer quarterly as it was previously.
The prices of the gas raw material constituents are expressed in €/Smc, this choice allows the comparison of Italian hub offers with other foreign indices.
The tables below show the values for the three benchmark indices in their respective units of measurement:
PUN INDEX VALUES / MWh
Month
| F1 |
F2 |
F3 |
Jan 22
Feb 22
Mar 22 |
257.19
224.88
320.08 |
242.35
225.68
329.12 |
196.39
193.65
286.19 |
Apr 22
May 22
Jun 22 |
256.23
237.21
297.17 |
266.58
253.52
293.31 |
228.86
212.33
241.03 |
Jul 22
Aug 22
Sept 22 |
495.24
553.96
460.24 |
473.26
602.78
471.34 |
386.07
503.55
382.07 |
Oct 22
Nov 22
Dec 22 |
235.87
272.35
360.73 |
242.14
240.71
309.96 |
177.15
181.43
244.94 |
|
Jan 23
Feb 23
Mar 23
|
rnttt
196.24
174.33
139.78
|
184.24
172.89
151.95
|
rnttt
155.1
144.22
124.66
|
|
Apr 23
May 23
|
135.55
109.99
|
152.05
119.81 |
126.40
95.11
|
- F1 (peak hours): 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding national holidays
- F2 (intermediate hours): 7-8 a.m., 7-11 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7-23 p.m. on Saturdays, excluding national holidays
- F3 (off-peak hours): hours 12:00 a.m.-7 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday, Sundays and holidays all hours of the day
For the sake of completeness of information, we recall that on average, an Italian household consumes about 2.7 MWh, or 2,700 kWh, in a year
PSV and PFOR index values
| MONTH |
PFOR € / value Smc |
PSV € / value Smc |
DIFFERENCE (PSV - PFOR/Smc) |
| May23 |
0.568812 |
0.364547 |
-0.204265 |
| Apr 23 |
0.568812 |
0.479694 |
-0.089118 |
| Mar 23 |
1.356833 |
0.498408 |
-0.070404 |
| Feb 23 |
1.356833 |
0.608549 |
-0.748284 |
| jan 23 |
1.356833 |
0.731604 |
-0.625229 |
| dec 22 |
2.553579 |
1.247659 |
-1.30592 |
| Nov 22 |
2.553579 |
0.97585 |
-1.577729 |
| Oct 22 |
2.553579 |
0.83518 |
-1.7184 |
| Sept 22 |
1.028582 |
1.96246 |
+0.93388 |
| Aug 22 |
1.028582 |
2.49871 |
+1.47012 |
| Jul 22 |
1.028582 |
1.84977 |
+0.82119 |
| Jun 22 |
0.838164 |
1.09848 |
+0.26032 |
| May 22 |
0.838164 |
0.96108 |
+0.12292 |
| Apr 22 |
0.838164 |
1.07189 |
+0.23373 |
| Mar 22 |
0.858031 |
1.35477 |
+0,49674 |
| Feb 22 |
0.858031 |
0.8715 |
+0.01347 |
| jan 22 |
0.858031 |
0.92044 |
+0,06240 |
PCS values equal to 0.038520 GJ/Smc
The price per cubic meter in bills: what is the difference between cubic meter (mc) and standard cubic meter (Smc)?
For simplicity of exposition, the same "mc" does not contain the same amount of gas in different geographic areas, for example, in a sea area in the South or in a mountain area in the North of Italy. In fact, one Smc corresponds to one mc under the standard reference conditions, that is, a temperature of 15° and absolute pressure of 1.01325*105 Pa (Pascal). The reason for this stems from the fact that a gas occupies a different volume depending on the pressure and temperature in which it is located. The same physical cubic meter can contain a different amount of gas by weight at different conditions of temperature and pressure.
In bills, for this reason, the cubic meters measured by the meter are multiplied by a conversion coefficient (PCS Potere Calorifico Superiore i.e., Superior Heating Power) that changes according to the geographic area and is specified in the gas bill.
- For instance, the conversion coefficient in the Melzo area for 2023 is 0.0397140 GJ/Smc while that of Pioltello, also for 2023 is 0.0399704 GJ/Smc
- On the bill, the price of Applied Smc for those living in the Melzo area, will be calculated as follows:
- PSV value (May 23) = 0.364547 €/Smc divided by the standard PCS 0.038520 GJ/Smc and multiplied by the zonal PCS/melzo * 0.0397140 GJ/Smc;
Therefore, the Smc price that will be charged in the Melzo area will be 0.37585 €/Smc
As a result, the Superior Heating Power (PCS), goes to affect the price charged on the bill; thus if the PCS is greater than the standard value of 0.03852, the charged price will show a higher amount, but if the PCS is less than 0.03852, the charged price will be lower.
It should also be specified that the quality of gas is defined by the PCS: if greater than 0.038520, the base price of the supply will be higher, but it is also true that the used gas will have a higher yield and consequently, the usage will be less.