Press Release: State aid: Commission concludes that Italian compensation for interruptibility services in the electricity sector in Sardinia and Sicily is not state aid

The European Commission on 26 May 2010 authorised under EU State aid rules a scheme designed to remunerate companies for the provision of instant interruptibility services (the acceptance of power cuts to avoid black outs) in Italy's largest islands, Sardinia and Sicily. The Commission concluded that the scheme, which is limited to three years, does not constitute state aid, because it remunerates at market price a service which is necessary to ensure the continuity of electricity supply on these islands.