The duration of the transitory period of public gas distribution

The article describes the interpretative problems concerning the duration of the transitory period of public gas distribution after law decree 273/05 came into effect. This decree is the third legislative measure which, in a period of five years, reforms the transitory provisions. The article outlines the normative background of legislative decree n. 164/00 (so called Letta decree) and law n. 239/04 (so called Marzano law) and it analyses their judicial interpretations. It then explains the changes introduced by law decree n. 273/05 and the new interpretative problems there might be with reference to this decree. The decree clarifies the due date of the transitory period and specifies that the date of 31st December 2005 is postponed to 31st December 2007. The Administrative Tribunal of Lombardia Region Brescia tried to limit the effects of law decree n. 273/05, stating that the new expiration date could not regard the contracts for which the local authorities had already acknowledged the previous due date. The State Council argued instead that the new law decree regards all the contracts. This decree also clarifies that the chances of increasing duration ex art. 15, comma 7, legislative decree n. 164/00, applies automatically, but it doesn't solve the interpretative problem concerning the possibility of adding up more than one of these chances. The article focuses on the problems of the public gas distribution after the reform of this sector with the implementation of directive n. 98/30/CE and it underlines that the various legislative measures of these years are indicative of the difficulty to allow a gradual transition towards a liberalized market. In this context, law decree n. 273/05 is the last legislative measure which tries to guarantee a balance between the rapid liberalization of the market, on one hand, and the interests of the firms which had contracts when the reform came into effect, on the other hand