Italy must cut energy bills even if it pushes up debt

Italy must quickly cut energy bills for firms and households even if it means hiking the country’s towering public debt.
Polls suggest the Sept. 25 ballot will be won by a rightist alliance but the leader of a new centrist group competing at this month’s elections, Carlo Calenda, a former businessman and industry minister, said the race is far from over and he believed his centrist “Action” party could deprive it of victory.
Mario Draghi’s outgoing government should invest 10 billion euros ($10 billion) to help major gas consuming industries and reimburse people part of the increases in gas and electricity costs that have already eroded their budgets, Calenda said.
The price of energy from renewable sources should also be decoupled from the price of gas, he added.