Summary - TST 16
TRANSPORTES, SERVICIOS Y TELECOMUNICACIONES
Andrea Giuntini
La parábola del gas in Italia dal carbone al metano dalle origini ottocentesche ad oggi. Aspetti economici, tecnologici e finanziari in chiave comparativa.
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Key words:
Gas; Public services; Market organization; Foreign
investments; Electricity industry; Business history.
[ Abstract ]
This text deals with the subject of gas in Italy, dating from the events of the nineteenth century until the great transformations that the sector has undergone in recent years. A myriad of local histories make up the general history of gas in Italy, and for a long time the latter developed without the aid of a strategic plan. After its use initially became more widespread in the 1840s, gas was seen as a great technological innovation as well as a business opportunity, and was particularly exploited by groups from abroad. The sector was dominated by lighting until the period after World War I, when other uses gained in importance alongside lifestyle changes. Natural gas began to be a part of the energy landscape in the interwar period, but became a genuine protagonist in the Italian economy with Enrico Mattei and the constitution of Eni. The crisis subsequent to the oil shock of 1973 led to the various forms of energy being highly integrated, and planning was initiated on infrastructures and services that was not just on an urban scale. Partnerships between the private and public sectors planned a new vision for the administration of gas distribution, management criteria of a corporate nature became predominant, and the old municipal companies began to decline. There has been a change in the overall picture for gas companies in Italy in the last twenty years, leading up to the point when the public utilities became public limited companies.
[ Abstract ]
This text deals with the subject of gas in Italy, dating from the events of the nineteenth century until the great transformations that the sector has undergone in recent years. A myriad of local histories make up the general history of gas in Italy, and for a long time the latter developed without the aid of a strategic plan. After its use initially became more widespread in the 1840s, gas was seen as a great technological innovation as well as a business opportunity, and was particularly exploited by groups from abroad. The sector was dominated by lighting until the period after World War I, when other uses gained in importance alongside lifestyle changes. Natural gas began to be a part of the energy landscape in the interwar period, but became a genuine protagonist in the Italian economy with Enrico Mattei and the constitution of Eni. The crisis subsequent to the oil shock of 1973 led to the various forms of energy being highly integrated, and planning was initiated on infrastructures and services that was not just on an urban scale. Partnerships between the private and public sectors planned a new vision for the administration of gas distribution, management criteria of a corporate nature became predominant, and the old municipal companies began to decline. There has been a change in the overall picture for gas companies in Italy in the last twenty years, leading up to the point when the public utilities became public limited companies.