Sardinian families are approaching the cold season with rising heating costs. The picture published on Saturday 7 November by La Nuova Sardegna reports increases in the cost of diesel, pellets and methane, as well as a sharp rise in the benchmark electricity price for vulnerable customers.
According to the ministry’s figures cited in the article, heating diesel costs an average of €2.07 per litre, compared with €1.41 twelve months earlier: an increase of 47%. Pellets have gone from around €4.50 per bag in September 2025 to €6 at the start of this year, and now to €9. Higher prices in the South and on the islands also affect diesel; pellets are affected by sea transport costs and the European tax on ships’ emissions.
Methane prices have also risen: in October, the bill for a typical customer on the Vulnerability Protection Service increased by 9.1% compared with September. In Sardinia, regulated rates are reported to be 13% higher than in northern Italy, while the network still does not reach a substantial part of the territory. For electricity, the increase of around 37% applies to the benchmark price for vulnerable customers in the October–December quarter, not to all household electricity rates.
Support measures have specific limits. The social bonus is available to households with an ISEE of up to €9,796 and covers electricity and mains gas, but not pellets, diesel, or LPG in cylinders and tanks. In municipalities without methane, a statutory discount of around 10% on diesel and LPG remains in place, but ends when the network arrives. In 2024, energy poverty affected 15.3% of Sardinian households, compared with the national average of 9.1%.
Families often rely on several solutions: 54.7% use individual appliances as their main heating system, such as stoves, fireplaces and air conditioners, and 32% use pellets. In 2025, the average electricity bill for Sardinian households was €826, 12% above the Italian average. Fuel costs also remain an issue for families: prices in Sassari and northern Sardinia have risen sharply.
For the cost of the energy contained in the fuel, figures from the Aiel association cited in the article put it at €65 per megawatt-hour for firewood, €106 for pellets, €163 for natural gas and €205 for diesel. An efficient heat pump can be an electric alternative; however, the comparison also depends on the system’s efficiency and the rooms to be heated. The cost of the fuel alone therefore does not determine the final cost of heating a home.