Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 4, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 2, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleItaly’s Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin says coal-fired plants are held in reserve for emergencies amid Middle East tensions, highlighting Italy’s high European gas storage and diversified suppliers.
By Francesca Piscioneri
ROME, March 4 (Reuters) - Italy's energy minister said on Wednesday he could restart some coal-fired power stations if the conflict in the Middle East were to provoke an energy crisis, adding that the country was for the moment "quite safe".
Italy has "coal-powered stations that I wouldn't like to re-activate but they are there in reserve to safeguard our country," Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said in an interview with the TgCom24 broadcaster.
Israeli and U.S. forces struck targets across Iran on Tuesday, prompting Iranian strikes against energy infrastructure in other Gulf states considered U.S. allies, in a region that accounts for just under a third of global oil production.
Iran has also targeted tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows. Traffic remained effectively closed for a fourth day after Iran attacked five ships.
Italy has a diversified portfolio of gas suppliers, which include Norway, Algeria and Azerbaijan.
In addition, its gas storage system, managed by gas grid operator Snam, is currently 47% full, well above an average of almost 30% for the European Union, according to official data.
"On the (energy) security front, our country is ... quite safe quantitatively," Pichetto Fratin said.
"We have the highest storage levels in Europe, we have diversified sources, and therefore we can say there is not an extremely severe situation regarding the quantities of resources, and I am speaking mainly about gas," he added.
(Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri, writing by Gavin Jones and Francesca Landini, editing by Alvise Armellini)
Italy may reactivate coal plants if the crisis in the Middle East disrupts energy supplies, to secure energy for the country.
Italy sources natural gas from Norway, Algeria, Azerbaijan, and others, ensuring supply diversification.
About a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
The minister stated that Italy has the highest gas storage levels in Europe, enhancing energy security.
Iran’s attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz have kept the traffic closed for four days.
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