Free market and last-resort services: what applies to businesses

For a business, the "protected market" has not existed for some time. In electricity, price protection ended in January 2021 for small enterprises and in April 2023 for micro-enterprises; in gas, non-domestic customers left it in 2013, with Decree-Law 69/2013. Today a company buys energy on the free market; if it is left without a supplier, continuity is guaranteed by last-resort services, which are not a protected tariff.

Who supplies a business left without a supplier

Sector	Customer	Service
Electricity	Small enterprises and micro-enterprises at low voltage	Gradual Protection Service (Servizio a Tutele Graduali, STG), awarded through tenders by area
Electricity	All other non-domestic customers: medium and high voltage, or low voltage without the size requirements	Safeguard service (salvaguardia), awarded through two-year tenders run by Acquirente Unico
Gas	Non-domestic use below 50,000 Smc a year and public service activities	Supplier of last resort (FUI)
Gas	Cases where the requirements for the FUI are not met	Default service

The size thresholds are those of ARERA's consolidated text on supply (TIV): a micro-enterprise has fewer than 10 employees and turnover or balance sheet total up to 2 million euros; a small enterprise has fewer than 50 employees and turnover or balance sheet total up to 10 million. In the safeguard service, in the 2025-2026 period, the energy price is the monthly average by time band of the PUN Index GME plus the Ω parameter offered in the tender, which differs by area; the procedures for 2027-2028 were regulated on 29 September 2026 with resolution 336/2026/R/eel.

The 31 March 2027 deadline

The current STG operators end their mandate on 31 March 2027. ARERA resolution 262/2026/R/eel of 23 July 2026 set the path for the businesses still served:

1. between September and November 2026 the operator sends an information notice;
2. in December 2026 it sends a written communication, separate from the bill and headed "Nuove condizioni di fornitura valide dal 1° aprile 2027" (new supply conditions valid from 1 April 2027), with the offer it will apply;
3. from 1 April 2027 those who have not signed another contract stay with the same seller, on the terms of its free-market offer with the lowest estimated annual spend; those who entered the STG from 1 January 2027 move instead to the new operators.

That offer must have economic conditions valid for at least 12 months, no early withdrawal charge and no mandatory paid additional service. From the same date the STG remains only as a last-resort service for small enterprises at low voltage that find themselves without a supplier.

What remains regulated in the free market

Network tariffs, general system charges and taxes are due with any seller: competition concerns the supply cost. For low-voltage supplies and for gas up to 200,000 Smc a year, ARERA also sets minimum rules:

• the Code of Commercial Conduct, with at least 3 months' notice for unilateral changes to the contract;
• PLACET offers, at fixed and at variable price, with contractual conditions defined by the Authority, which every seller must also offer to small enterprises;
• withdrawal to switch supplier without penalties or closing costs, except in the cases allowed for electricity (fixed-price, fixed-term contracts; companies with more than 50 employees or over 10 million in turnover), and at least 6 months' notice if it is the seller that withdraws.

These rules do not cover those with even a single point at medium voltage or above the gas threshold: for medium and large companies, and for multi-site customers with points above the thresholds, the contract is what counts.

For a business: what to check

• Which service you are in — it is written on the front page of the bill ("mercato libero", "servizio a tutele graduali"). With several sites, check every point.
• If you are in the STG — in December 2026 read the seller's communication and compare the offer with the market before 31 March 2027: without a choice, that offer applies.
• If you are in the safeguard or default service — these are continuity solutions, not chosen contracts: ask the seller for the parameters applied and plan a tender.
• Size requirements — employees and turnover determine the service and the rules that apply: check how you are classified.
• Deadlines — ask the supplier in writing for the duration, notice periods, withdrawal charges and what happens when the economic conditions expire, and align the dates across sites.

Comparing offers is the work of the energy and gas contract optimisation service by IPGS ENERGY; wholesale prices are on the market indices page. Request a review.

Sources

• ARERA — Resolution 262/2026/R/eel on the Gradual Protection Service (accessed 10 October 2026)
• ARERA — Il Servizio a Tutele Graduali (accessed 10 October 2026)
• ARERA — TIV, text valid from 1 July 2026 (accessed 10 October 2026)
• ARERA — Resolution 388/2024/R/eel, safeguard service 2025-2026 (accessed 10 October 2026)
• ARERA — Resolution 336/2026/R/eel, safeguard service 2027-2028 (accessed 10 October 2026)
• Acquirente Unico — Servizio Salvaguardia (accessed 10 October 2026)
• ARERA — Resolution 280/2013/R/gas, end of gas price protection for non-domestic customers (accessed 10 October 2026)
• ARERA — Glossary of the natural gas bill (accessed 10 October 2026)
• ARERA — Code of Commercial Conduct, text valid from 1 April 2026 (accessed 10 October 2026)
• ARERA — Withdrawal from supply contracts, text valid from 17 July 2026 (accessed 10 October 2026)
• ARERA — Standard offers for end customers, PLACET (accessed 10 October 2026)