BRESCIA, Italy (MF-Dow Jones)--Italy needs to compensate for the lack of adequate energy infrastructure, especially for the natural gas sector, which is limiting competition in the country, regulator Alessandro Ortis said Monday.
"I have always said that the country needs to reverse the delays in the development of infrastructure," said Ortis, who heads the energy watchdog, on the sidelines of a conference in Brescia.
This reversal was required "Namely in the power network, and especially in the gas sector, where we need infrastructure for supply and storage, regasifiers and increased capacity of pipelines," he added.
Italy receives the vast majority of its gas imports from Russia and Algeria as its domestic output dwindles from mature fields. More than 60% of the country's power generators run on gas.
Ortis also said he hopes "some" of the liquefied natural gas receiving terminal projects will receive approval. About a dozen LNG projects have been presented for such facilities.
Italy only has one regasifier, which is more than three decades old, and has an annual capacity of 3.5 billion cubic meters.
An LNG terminal, with a yearly capacity of 8 billion cubic meters, is scheduled to start commercial operations in the second-half of next near the northeastern town of Rovigo.