The heating season in Italy should be shifted by 15 days, so it will start in November, and heating will be turned on one hour less per day. These measures could save three to six billion cubic meters of gas.

Italians are preparing high fines for all those who do not comply with the government's recommendations on gas heating. As early as March this year, it was ordered that apartments and public buildings may be heated to a maximum of 18 degrees Celsius, and now this could be extended to households as well. 

Italian media write that this rule could be applied to the whole country and that Italians will be allowed to heat their homes to a maximum of 19 degrees Celsius, writes Fenix magazine. The heating season should be shifted by 15 days, so it will start in November, and heating will be turned on one hour less per day. These measures could save three to six billion cubic meters of gas. According to speculation in the Italian media, those who do not comply with the rules could dig deep into their pockets: a law from 2001 says that anyone who does not comply with the heating rules must pay a fine between 516 and 2,582 euros. But if the government invokes the EU law on energy-efficient buildings from 2005, things could get worse for some: improper maintenance of the heating system could result in fines of up to 3,000 euros. However, it has not yet been clarified who will be responsible in the future for controlling the heat in Italian apartments and houses. At this moment, it seems that this responsibility could be transferred to municipalities. However, it is questionable whether municipalities have the capacity for that.

Source: vecernji.hr