Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
ROME – Transparency and fairness in the commercial communications of energy services. The consumer association Codici has launched an action against Eni Plenitude to demand substantial changes to the promotion of “Adopt a Panel”, the virtual solar power service advertised with the promise of a discount of up to 100% on electricity charges.
The offer allows customers to virtually adopt a share of the output from a solar plant located in Spain, in exchange for a fixed monthly fee ranging between €2 and €5. However, according to the association, the way the discounts are applied risks creating false expectations among users.
Identified issues: “Discount tied to simultaneous consumption”
Codici highlights that the discount does not apply to the entire bill amount, but is limited to the energy consumed at the exact moment the plant in Spain is generating, within the assigned power margin. If the energy is fed into the grid without a simultaneous withdrawal by the user, no credit is accrued.
“The problem is that the consumer incurs a certain cost for an uncertain saving. The benefit depends on consumption times, solar production and the economic conditions of the supply. It can happen that the discount obtained is less than the fee paid. Furthermore, the different geographical location of the Spanish plant affects the coincidence between production and consumption of Italian households.”
— Massimiliano Astarita, National Head of Utilities at Codici
The association’s investigation also revealed technical inconsistencies in the FAQs on the official website — where the “quarter-hourly” measurement was incorrectly described as dividing the day into four time slots rather than measurements every 15 minutes — as well as doubts about the criteria used to suggest panel sizes and about the possibility of replacing the reference plant.
Demands to Eni Plenitude and advice for citizens
The association is calling for an immediate revision of the advertising messages and a detailed explanation of the factors on which the actual economic benefit depends.
“We are not contesting the innovation, but the way the saving is presented. When a 100% discount is advertised, the consumer must be able to immediately understand what it refers to, what costs they bear and which conditions reduce the benefit. Transparency cannot be left solely to the contractual clauses or the FAQs.”
— Ivano Giacomelli, National Secretary of Codici
Codici urges citizens to carefully evaluate joining the offer by analysing their own usage profile: an indication of a 100% discount on a specific tariff component does not automatically equate to a zero bill or a net economic saving.
