Daylight saving time returns on Sunday, March 31 and will save us 90 million: that's why moving the clock forward is better for us

On the night between Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 March, it will be necessary to move the hands by one hour: daylight saving time returns. Even if we all slept an hour less, we would have longer days and more natural light to exploit, an advantage not only from an energy, environmental and climate point of view, but also from an economic one.

Daylight saving time saves us money: here's how much

In fact, during the seven months in which the new schedule will come into force, Italy will save around 90 million euros, thanks to a reduction in energy consumption that is supposed to amount to around 370 million kilowatt-hours. This, in turn, will translate into emissions savings, estimated at 170,000 fewer tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Terna carries out the calculations, highlighting that the estimated economic benefit for the summer period in 2024 is calculated taking into account that the average kWh cost of a typical domestic protected customer (according to ARERA data) is currently equal to around 24.3 euro cents before taxes.

Hands forward: active advantages

The company led by Giuseppina Di Foggia also states that a reduction in electricity consumption of around 370 million kilowatt-hours is equivalent to the average annual needs of more than 150,000 households. Moreover, Terna points out that in almost twenty years, from 2004 to 2023, “the reduction in electricity consumption in Italy due to the summer season amounted to about 11.7 billion kilowatt-hours overall, which, in economic terms, saved About 2.2 billion euros for citizens. “

Controversy over abolishing the time change

For many years there has been discussion in Italy about the possibility of adopting daylight saving time for all twelve months of the year, which many countries have already done. In 2019, the European Parliament approved the decision to cancel the seasonal time change starting in 2021, with a majority of 410 votes in favor, 192 against, and 51 abstentions. Therefore, each state must decide whether to adopt daylight saving time or standard time in perpetuity. But no EU country has legislated on this matter, and only a few countries have expressed a clear preference. Years ago, the French said in a public consultation promoted by the National Assembly that they wanted to keep daylight saving time forever. While the northern European countries were the most willing to cancel daylight saving time, since the increase in additional daylight hours does not matter to them. At the present time, Italy preferred not to make a decision, and left things as they are, that is, five months in solar time and seven months in daylight saving time. But calls to always keep daylight saving time are becoming more and more frequent

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