PSV: what the gas price is and how to read it in indexed offers

What the PSV is

The PSV, the Virtual Trading Point, is the point of the Italian transmission system where authorised operators buy and sell natural gas. It is not a plant: it is the point of the network that trades refer to (GME).

On the gas markets of GME, the Italian energy market operator, operators authorised to trade at the PSV buy and sell gas spot and forward, and GME acts as central counterparty. The day-ahead market, MGP-GAS, and the intraday market, MI-GAS, provide for delivery of the gas on the transmission system at the PSV (GME).

From the PSV the gas then has to reach the redelivery point, the one of your supply. That is why transport is paid separately in offers, with a component set by ARERA, the QT, for transport “from the PSV to the redelivery point” (ARERA).

The PSV price, and where to read it

On MGP-GAS, gas for the three gas days after the session opens is traded continuously; on MI-GAS, gas for the same gas day. The wholesale gas price is expressed in euros per megawatt-hour (€/MWh), that is per quantity of energy; in offers and on the invoice, gas is paid in euros per standard cubic metre (€/Smc) instead.

GME publishes the results of its gas markets every week. In the week from 26 October to 1 November 2026, for example, MGP-GAS in continuous trading averaged €102.24/MWh (GME, week no. 44/2026, in Italian). Every Monday we tell it in words in the weekly note.

How a PSV-indexed offer works

ARERA gives a precise model: the variable-price PLACET offer for gas. Every supplier must have it among its offers for households and small businesses; for gas it applies to points consuming less than 200,000 Smc a year.

In the variable-price PLACET, the part of the price linked to consumption, P_VOL, is recalculated every month and is the sum of two things:

• P_INGM: the monthly average of the day-ahead PSV price, recorded every working day and converted from €/MWh to €/Smc;
• α (alpha): a share in €/Smc set by the supplier, fixed for 12 months from activation of the supply, which covers the other costs of procuring and delivering the gas.

On top of these come a fixed supplier charge per redelivery point (P_FIX, in euros a year), the distribution and metering tariffs and transport from the PSV to the redelivery point (QT). The other items, taxes included, are explained in the invoice guide.

From €/MWh to €/Smc: an example

To go from €/MWh to €/Smc the PLACET uses a fixed factor: 3.852 / 3.6 / 100, that is 0.0107 MWh per standard cubic metre.

An example with round numbers: if the month’s average PSV were €100/MWh, P_INGM would be 100 × 0.0107 = €1.07/Smc. With an α of €0.10/Smc, P_VOL would be €1.17/Smc. The two starting figures are made up, to show the calculation: the real ones come from the market and from your offer.

What to look for in an indexed offer

• Which PSV: who records it and over what period. In the PLACET it is the average, over the month of consumption, of the day-ahead price.
• The unit: €/MWh or €/Smc, and the factor used to go from one to the other.
• The supplier’s share (in the PLACET, the α): how much it is and how long it stays fixed.
• What is included: whether transport, distribution and metering are separate or already in the price.

Above 200,000 Smc a year PLACET offers do not apply: index, share and duration are negotiated. That is what we do for businesses with an RFQ, a request for quotation.