Utilities in Italy – electricity, gas, broadband, SIM rules, the TV licence and waste tax
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
Setting up utilities in Italy means picking an energy supplier on the free market, signing a broadband contract and showing ID for a SIM. Two charges then arrive whether you ask or not – the canone TV and TARI. Here is how each one works in 2026.
Setting up utilities in Italy has worked differently since 2024. Regulated electricity has been reserved for vulnerable households since 1 July 2024, and regulated gas since January 2024, so most newcomers buy energy on the mercato libero (free market). Since 1 January 2026 the means-test ceiling for automatic bill discounts has been €9,796, and the TV licence is €90 a year.
Energy, telecoms and the TV licence follow national rules. Waste tax does not: each comune (municipality) sets its own, so Turin is the example below – in Rome, Milan or Florence, check your own comune's rules.
How do electricity and gas utilities work in Italy?
ARERA, the energy regulator, reserves the regulated servizio di maggior tutela (greater-protection service) for vulnerable households. Non-vulnerable customers still in it who had not picked a free-market contract were moved on 1 July 2024 to the Servizio a Tutele Graduali (STG), with the supplier that won the auction in their area. It ends on 31 March 2027; after that, they stay with the same supplier on its most favourable free-market offer unless they choose.
Anyone can move to the free market at any time, and changing supplier never interrupts your supply. Every electricity bill states whether the contract is Maggior tutela or Mercato libero.
| Customer | Electricity | Gas |
|---|---|---|
| Most households, newcomers included | Free market | Free market |
| Vulnerable household | Maggior tutela, which you can return to at any time | Servizio di tutela della vulnerabilità, priced month by month |
| Who counts as vulnerable | 75 or over; social bonus or serious-illness bonus; disability under Law 104/92; emergency housing; small non-interconnected island | 75 or over; gas social bonus; disability under Law 104/92; emergency housing |
Source: ARERA, read 23 September 2026.
Choosing a supplier
The official comparison site, the Portale Offerte, is free, run by Acquirente Unico for ARERA, and has listed every retail electricity and gas offer since 1 July 2018. Type in an offer's codice offerta (offer code) to compare it. Before you sign, the supplier must give you the Scheda sintetica (summary sheet) with the key terms and estimated annual cost.
Every supplier must also offer households PLACET standard offers – one fixed-price, one variable – on ARERA's contract terms, with the price renewed every 12 months. With SPID or a CIE (electronic identity card) – see part 4 – ARERA's Portale Consumi shows your consumption history; the consumer freephone is 800 166 654. Prices move: the typical vulnerable customer's electricity bill rose 4.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2026.
Social bonuses on a low income
National social bonuses apply automatically once your household files the DSU (means-test declaration) with INPS, the social security institute, and gets an ISEE (means-test indicator). Since 1 January 2026 the ISEE ceiling has been €9,796, up from €9,530, or €20,000 with at least four dependent children. Each bonus runs for 12 months on one supply per service.
| Service | Social bonus |
|---|---|
| Electricity | 30 per cent off the average user's spend |
| Gas | 15 per cent off |
| Water | 50 litres per person per day free |
| Waste (TARI) | 25 per cent off |
Source: ARERA, read 23 September 2026.
What are the rules for broadband and SIM cards in Italy?
Broadband and mobile contracts follow national rules set by AGCOM, the communications authority.
| AGCOM rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Initial commitment | Normally no longer than 24 months |
| After month 24 | Cancel at any time on at most one month's notice, with no penalty |
| Leaving early | Dismantling or migration costs cannot exceed your average monthly fee |
| Operator changes the terms | At least 30 days' notice; cancel or switch without penalty within 60 days |
| Before you sign | A short sintesi contrattuale (contract summary), also for phone sales |
| Your own router | Allowed if it meets legal requirements, at no extra charge (modem libero) |
Source: AGCOM, read 23 September 2026.
Under national law, for every SIM – prepaid, postpaid or eSIM – the operator must identify you before activation and keep a copy of your identity document, also when you port your number. Since a decree-law of 11 April 2025, non-EU citizens show a valid residence permit, passport or identity document, so you can buy a SIM with your passport before you hold a permesso di soggiorno (residence permit). If your documents were lost or stolen, the operator copies the police report instead.
What is the canone TV, and do you have to pay it?
The canone TV (TV licence) is a national charge of €90 a year in 2026; it was cut to €70 for 2024 only. It is due once per famiglia anagrafica (registered household). Since 2016 anyone with a residential electricity contract is presumed to own a TV, and the licence is billed with electricity in ten monthly instalments from January to October.
Anna, an illustrative newcomer living alone, opens an electricity contract for her flat but owns no TV. As the account holder, she files a dichiarazione sostitutiva di non detenzione (declaration that nobody in the household has a TV) by the end of the month after the supply starts, then renews it every year.
| Situation | When to file |
|---|---|
| No TV, new electricity contract | By the end of the month after activation |
| No TV, exemption for the whole of next year | 1 July to 31 January |
| No TV, exemption for the second half of this year | 1 February to 30 June |
| Aged 75 or over, own and spouse's income up to €8,000 a year, no cohabitants with an income, domestic workers aside | Declaration to stop paying – check the timing with the Agenzia delle Entrate |
Source: Agenzia delle Entrate, read 23 September 2026.
File online, through a CAF (tax assistance centre), or by registered mail without an envelope to Agenzia delle Entrate, Direzione Provinciale I di Torino, Ufficio Canone TV, Casella postale 22, 10121 Torino.
How does TARI waste tax work in Italy?
TARI pays for waste collection and disposal, and each comune sets its own rules, rates and deadlines. In Turin you declare a new home within 90 days of starting to occupy it, online with SPID, CIE or CNS. There, registering your residence at the anagrafe (registry office) counts as the declaration, though cellars, attics and garages must still be declared, and the household size comes automatically from the population register.
Turin bills are paid through PagoPA, the national platform for payments to public bodies. In 2026 the advance, paid in four instalments, is calculated at 55 per cent of the 2025 tariffs.
| Turin, households, 2026 | Due date |
|---|---|
| First advance instalment | 30 May 2026 |
| Second advance instalment | 30 June 2026 |
| Third advance instalment | 30 July 2026 |
| Fourth advance instalment | 30 September 2026 |
| Balance | 16 December 2026 |
Source: Città di Torino, read 23 September 2026.
Turin also has 8 municipal recycling centres – Via Arbe 12 opens Monday to Saturday, 7:00–19:00 – and Amiat runs collection. If you qualify, the waste social bonus cuts your TARI by 25 per cent.
Do you need home insurance in Italy?
According to IVASS, the insurance supervisor, liability insurance is compulsory for motor vehicles (RC auto), certain professionals and builders of new homes, but for households it is a choice. The RC del capofamiglia (family liability) policy covers everyone in your household for damage caused to others and can be extended to pets and domestic workers. With a mortgage, the bank typically requires fire-and-explosion cover on the home, but you need not buy the policy the bank proposes.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Compare offers on the Portale Offerte and ask for the Scheda sintetica | Before you sign an energy contract |
| 2 | Buy a SIM with your passport or residence permit | On arrival |
| 3 | Read the sintesi contrattuale for broadband | Before you sign |
| 4 | No TV: file the declaration of non-detention | By the end of the month after the electricity supply starts |
| 5 | Declare your home for TARI (Turin: within 90 days) | By your comune's deadline |
| 6 | On a low income, file the DSU with INPS | When you are settled |
Source: ARERA, AGCOM, Agenzia delle Entrate and Città di Torino, read 23 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- ARERA – Fine tutela elettricità: cosa fare? · arera.it
- ARERA – Fine tutela gas: cosa fare · arera.it
- ARERA – Nota stampa 2 settembre 2026 · arera.it
- ARERA – Comunicato stampa 25 giugno 2026 · arera.it
- ARERA – Il Portale Offerte · arera.it
- ARERA – Offerte standard PLACET · arera.it
- ARERA – website contacts · arera.it
- ARERA – Comunicato stampa 23 gennaio 2026 · arera.it
- AGCOM – Contratti, migrazione e portabilità del numero · agcom.it
- AGCOM – Internet aperta e modem libero · agcom.it
- Normattiva – D.Lgs. 259/2003 (Codice comunicazioni elettroniche), art. 98-undetricies · normattiva.it
- Normattiva – D.Lgs. 259/2003 (full text) · normattiva.it
- Agenzia delle Entrate – Canone TV · agenziaentrate.gov.it
- Agenzia delle Entrate – Addebito sulle fatture delle imprese elettriche · agenziaentrate.gov.it
- Agenzia delle Entrate – Ultrasettantacinquenni con reddito basso · agenziaentrate.gov.it
- Agenzia delle Entrate – Cittadini che non detengono la tv · agenziaentrate.gov.it
- IVASS – Guida 5 'Le assicurazioni della responsabilità civile' · ivass.it
- IVASS – Guida 7 'Polizze connesse a mutui e finanziamenti' · ivass.it
- Città di Torino – TARI · comune.torino.it
- Città di Torino – Attivazione del servizio TARI per utenze domestiche · comune.torino.it
- Città di Torino – TARI 2026: scadenze e modalità di pagamento (9 marzo 2026) · comune.torino.it
- Città di Torino – Domande frequenti TARI · comune.torino.it
- Città di Torino – Domande frequenti Rifiuti · comune.torino.it
- Città di Torino – Rifiuti · comune.torino.it
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.