How a business switches its electricity and gas supplier

Termination: who sends it, with what notice

When you change seller, you do not write to the old supplier. By signing the new contract you give the new seller a power of attorney to terminate on your behalf: the termination starts with the change request, or switching, sent to the Integrated Information System (SII) run by Acquirente Unico, which notifies the outgoing seller within one working day. This applies to all businesses, small and large. If instead you want to end the supply without a new seller, you send the termination yourself.

The terms are set by ARERA, Italy’s energy authority, with resolution 302/2016/R/com, only for small customers: for electricity, low-voltage points; for gas, those consuming less than 200,000 Smc (standard cubic metres) a year. For them:

• to change seller, the termination coincides with the switching request and follows its timescales;
• to end the supply, the notice period cannot exceed one month;
• termination cannot carry penalties or closing fees. An early termination charge is allowed only for low-voltage electricity: for businesses with more than 50 employees or €10 million in turnover or balance sheet total, and in fixed-price contracts for a set period, where it must be stated as a maximum amount;
• the seller, if the contract provides for it, can terminate with at least six months’ notice, but not before expiry in fixed-price, fixed-term electricity contracts.

In medium voltage, for gas above 200,000 Smc and in multi-site contracts with at least one point outside these limits, the notice period is not set by ARERA: the contract decides it, and it is generally longer. The new seller respects it by indicating a switch date, even a distant one.

How long it takes

• Electricity, until 30 November 2026. The switch takes effect from the first day of the month, if the request is sent by the 10th of the previous month. Under this procedure, requests can be sent until 10 November 2026.
• Electricity, from 1 December 2026. With ARERA resolution 58/2026/R/eel, the switch can take effect on any day of the month: for a business, the request must be sent at least 10 working days before the switch date. The fast request, taking effect in one working day, applies only to household customers.
• Gas. The switch takes effect from the first day of the month, if the new seller starts the procedure by the 10th of the month before: to switch on 1 February, by 10 January.

The expected switch date must be written in the contract with the new seller.

Renewals and changing prices

ARERA’s Code of Commercial Conduct applies to those with only low-voltage points and gas up to 200,000 Smc a year. It requires written notice:

• a unilateral change, allowed only if the contract provides for it and for a justified reason: at least 3 months before, headed “Proposta di modifica unilaterale del contratto” (proposal for a unilateral change to the contract) and with instructions for terminating without charges;
• renewal with new economic conditions: at least 3 months before, as “Proposta di rinnovo con modifica delle condizioni economiche” (proposal for renewal with changed economic conditions);
• automatic changes already provided for in the contract within 12 months, such as an increase, a discount that expires or the move from a fixed to a variable price: at least 2 months before;
• if the notice is not respected, you are entitled to automatic compensation of €30.

If an index set in the contract changes, no notice is needed: you see it in the first invoice. From 1 November 2026, the Code also says that in fixed-price, fixed-term electricity contracts the seller cannot change price and duration for the worse. In medium voltage, what is written in the contract applies, tacit renewal included.

The end of price protection for businesses

For electricity, price protection for businesses ended in two stages:

• from 1 January 2021 for small businesses in low voltage and for microbusinesses with at least one point above 15 kW of contracted power;
• for microbusinesses, that is fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover up to €2 million, with all points up to 15 kW, the gradual protection service started on 1 April 2023.

Those who did not have an open-market seller moved, without interruption, to the gradual protection service, with a supplier assigned by area: for businesses, today’s providers remain in service until 31 March 2027.

Before signing: what to check

• The duration of the contract and of the economic conditions, with the expiry dates, and how they renew: tacit renewal, yes or no.
• The price: fixed, and for how long; or variable, with the formula and the index it is linked to.
• Termination: the notice period and any early termination charges.
• Guarantees: security deposit or other forms, and any other charge for concluding or performing the contract.
• Invoicing: how often the invoice arrives and, if consumption estimates are used, on what basis.
• Late payments: default interest and penalties.
• The activation date of the supply.

For small supplies, before you sign the seller must give you the offer’s summary sheet, which sums up these items.

How we work

We sign new contracts with no tacit renewal and expiring on 31 December: that way the supply is renegotiated in good time every year, instead of renewing itself. We take care of terminations, account transfers, takeovers and the move to the new contract, and we put suppliers on the same conditions in an RFQ, request for quotation: the comparison fits on a single sheet and the choice remains yours. It is the service for consumers, which after signing also checks the invoices: the invoice guide explains it.