Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to A2A's First Half 2026 Consolidated Results. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. However, if you wish to ask a question, please dial the pound key, then five on your telephone keypad to enter the queue. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would like to hand the conference over to our host, Marco Porro, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us. Today, our CEO, Renato Mazzoncini, and our CFO, Luca Moroni, will present our first half 2026 results, which confirm the group's operational and financial strengths and the progress of our strategic investment. We will be happy to take your question at the end of the presentation. Let me give the floor to Renato.
Okay. Thank you, Marco, good afternoon, everyone. Thank you also from my side for you for joining us. Reacting effectively to change delivers a result today. Challenging change over time is what builds sustainable results tomorrow. It is what distinguishes short-term responses from long-term value creation. I think this perfectly encapsulates the first half of 2026 for A2A, continuing to deliver today while building the foundations for tomorrow's growth. To illustrate this, let me start with some of the key achievements delivered during the first half of 2026, across both our two pillars of energy transition and the circular economy. On renewables, we further scaled our RES platform, adding 35 MW of wind capacity and bringing installed capacity in wind from resources to over 300 MW.
We also continued to develop our PPA platform; this is really key for me, with agreements signed with Sosteneo an d Politecnico di Milano , so a large customer. As well as the launch of our first A2A Open PPA, designed to support the small business enterprises through long-term contracts. Through these initiatives, A2A promotes the development of renewables by making green energy more widespread, more accessible, and less exposed to market dynamics. This is also a concrete example of how PPAs enable the integration of renewable sources into industrial consumption, promoting long-term procurement models that provide greater stability and sustainability. Today, really, A2A is the only energy company that tries to change this paradigm of renewable, with products for every kind of customer long-term. The PPA mass market, 120,000 contracts signed, more or less 260 GWh sold with this kind of PPAs.
Of course, PPA is classical B2B, and now also this small business enterprise that is a kind of customer is super interesting, and without standard PPAs, it can't really arrive at the change of paradigm of renewable. Also, in this case, the duration of the contract is 10 years or 20 years, depending on the negotiation. W e are really very happy to have, in our market, let's say, a product , PPA, for every kind of customer. We increased our role as a strategic infrastructure operator. Some examples of the 250 construction sites that we have in this moment active. For example, the Monfalcone construction site is running and is a CCGT with a super-large 870 MW of thermal capacity. Is running at full capacity, supported by an extended shift partner, with commercial operation confirmed for next year. Power network capacity increased by 5%, reaching 9,300 MW.
And two new wastewater treatment plants added treatment capacity for the equivalent of 30,000 inhabitants. In this context, grid capacity is not just a technical metric. It is what makes the transition executable. By reinforcing our networks, we create the condition to connect more renewable energy and support new electric uses, so the demand and ensure continuity and quality services for the community that we serve. As water resources come under increasing pressure, also in this month in Italy. And wastewater treatment plays a key role in protecting water quality and increasing the resilience of integrated water cycles. Delivering today's results is only a part of the story. At the same time, we are advancing a number of strategic initiatives that underpin long-term value creation. Let's start at slide number three, talking about our data center platform.
Let me now turn in one of the areas where our industrial approach can unlock significant future potential, exactly the data center. Today, the sector is benefiting very well from a number of favorable structural trends. Growing attention to data sovereignty and digital infrastructure resilience is driving demand for domestic and European data center capacity, making digital infrastructure an increasing strategic asset. At the same time, Lombardy, our core area, an area that A2A is incumbent for both generation and network, offers a particular supportive environment for development, promoting brownfield redevelopment and heat recovery solutions. District heating, let's say. Two areas that are fully aligned with A2A's industrial footprint and long-term strategy. Against this backdrop, we believe A2A is a unique position to capture this opportunity, and our approach is based on an energy-efficient power shell solution developed on A2A-owned sites near our electrical production generation.
We will connect them behind the meter, leveraging our generation assets. This enables us to offer faster time-to-market, lower energy costs, and a reduced environmental footprint. Let's say, also looking at the NIMBY syndrome, this is a key point. On our data center platform, we are well on track with our strategic roadmap. You remember the 12th of November with the update of the industrial plan; we launched our platform. Where are we now? Question mark. Two sites, Lamarmora in Brescia, are designed for around 20 MW of IT capacity and 30 MW of electrical, serving AI workloads and co-location services with a behind-the-meter connection to our waste-to-energy plants. Our waste-to-energy plants in Brescia , which are around 70MW-80 MW, are ready to feed this new data center. And proximity to our district heating network.
That means to have a data center with a PUE super low and a WUE approximate to zero. Cassano d'Adda , province of Milano, is also moving forward with a preliminary design already completed beside our site, once again, a site in our property, for at least 80 MW IT, is designed to support AI workloads with potential for modular densification. It will benefit from a behind-the-meter connection to the adjacent CCGT plant, once again, for more or less 800 MW of CCGT plant. And from the availability of existing gas peakers as backup power, 110 MW of peakers that can work as backup power, providing potential advantages in terms of permitting timelines. That means no environment impact assessment is required.
In this case, the time to market for this plant is really incredible because we have a connection in high voltage, we have the generation to feed the base load of the plant, and we have a backup, and we do not need an environmental impact assessment. In slide four, we underline our strategic partnership with Equinix. As our data center platform continues to progress, we are, of course, also advancing our role as an energy partner. Our partnership with Equinix is a clear example of this. We are near Milano once again, Settimo Milanese , and we will transform the heat produced by servers hosted at the Equinix campus in Settimo Milanese into the energy resources for local communities. The model is straightforward and effective.
Heat generated as a byproduct of data center workloads is captured by Equinix and transported to A2A Energy Center, where A2A upgrades heat with 72 MW of large-scale heat pumps, because the temperature coming out from data center is not enough. Backed by a water storage, 6,000 cubic meters of thermal storage. The heat is then delivered into the Milan district heating network. To understand the dimension of only one data center like this, the expected contribution is incredible, up to 225 GWh of recovered thermal energy per year, enabling further network expansion and increasing decarbonized heat distributed in Milan around 20%. More than 20% of district heating in Milan. That is also, let us say, the only way, really, to decarbonize Milan, because it is not easy with the typology of building that you have in Milan to substitute the thermal plant with heat pumps in every kind of building.
It is a pioneering partnership with Equinix that illustrates how strategic collaboration can pave the way for future opportunity. Looking at slide number five, let me now turn off our first-half results. These results, despite the different trends across our businesses, highlight the value of A2A's diversified industrial platform, enabling us to mitigate external pressure while capturing opportunities across our portfolio. The EBITDA remained broadly stable at EUR 1.2 billion, despite higher contraction fees for hydro and a less favorable energy price environment. Excluding this effect, group EBITDA would have a growth of around 2% year-on-year. This was supported by the natural hedge in hydro generation, in particular, in this case, between Northern and Southern Italy, and by continued EBITDA growth in electricity distribution, driven by ongoing investment.
In this half, the relative production in the Southern Italy hydro was much, much higher than the average level of the last year. In the North, we had a reduction due to less snow in the winter in the mountains. Stronger financial discipline with a net financial position to EBITDA ratio at 2.6x, in line with our target, supported resilient results and continued strategic evolution. Look at slide six. To our investment program, in the first half, we continue to execute on our strategic roadmap, with CapEx reaching, in this half, EUR 718 million, up to 5% year-on-year. This was mainly driven by the ramp-up of investment at the Monfalcone CCGT, expected to be completed next year with an EBITDA contribution of EUR 120 million once fully operational, imagine the second half of 2027.
The development of a new Corteolona waste-to-energy plant, province of Pavia, Lombardy, is expected to be commissioned in 2028 with a full run-rate EBITDA of EUR 40 million and a continued investment in electricity distribution and regulated assets. I want to underline that we reach EUR 4 billion of RAB, considering the RAB coming from the power grid, the most important, and the gas grid and water cycles. Development CapEx increased by 17%, confirming the progress of the projects that will drive our future growth. Importantly, 59% of our future FIT investments are aligned with the EU Taxonomy, confirming the strong sustainability profile of our growth plan. With that, let me turn to Luca for a more detailed analysis of our results. Please, Luca.
Thanks, Renato. Good afternoon, everyone. As Renato just highlighted, our first-half results once again demonstrate the value of the A2A diversified and integrated business model. The slide shows how the strength of our portfolio allows us to balance different market dynamics, perceive opportunities, and mitigate headwinds. As a result, we deliver an EBITDA of EUR 1,181 million, broadly in line with the last year. This reflects three main factors: higher solar and wind energy production, the ability to capture trading opportunities, and strong energy management performances. Solid contribution from our regulated business, mainly electricity distribution and resilience in the market business, despite the challenging competitive scenarios. Albeit mitigated by the impact from higher hydroelectric concession fees and lower hydro production, the lower waste contribution, and the non-organic reduction in gas distribution.
I will unpack our result in more detail, starting with generation and trading, where I will walk you through the main driver and our performance. In slide eight, generation and trading, increased wind and solar production and a strong performance in energy management helped offset the impact of our concession fees. EBITDA was EUR 394 million, a decrease of EUR 26 million compared to the first half of 2025. Starting with renewables, we delivered high wind and solar production. However, it was partly offset by two factors. Higher hydroelectric concession fees, which had a EUR 37 million impact, including around EUR 25 million related to prior years, and lower hydroelectric production. On hydro production, there is also a positive point worth highlighting. Lower water availability in Northern Italy, particularly in May and June, was partially offset by better hydrological conditions in Calabria
This, once again, shows the value of our diversified generation portfolio and its ability to reduce local volatility. Moving to flexibility, a good performance in trading and energy management confirmed our ability to capture market opportunities. To sum up, our operational performance remains solid with our production volumes and effective trading execution, while higher concession fees and weaker hydro condition represented a headwind during the semester. Let me now move to market. Looking at the market segment, the first semester confirms the persistence of our commercial performance. EBITDA was EUR 232 million, with an increase of EUR 3 million compared to the first half of 2025. Performance was primarily driven by our electricity volumes, particularly in the free market segment. At the same time, unit margins were lower than last year, reflecting a more competitive market environment.
While competition remained high, we have seen a progressive reduction in churn rates over the last few months, in particular in June and July. Overall, the business delivered a solid set of results, with volume growth offsetting margin pressures. Let me now turn to performance of the circular economy. Adjusted EBITDA was EUR 293 million, a decrease of EUR 29 million compared with the first half of 2025. The decline was mainly driven by temporary factors in waste, lower availability of Corteolona Waste-to-Energy, and other treatment plants due to maintenance activities. New Acerra service contract signed in February 2025. Higher fuel cost in collection. On the positive side, treatment prices showed a slight increase while the integrated water cycle benefited from higher load revenues. In district heating, performances were lower year-on-year, mainly due to the lower volumes and reduced contribution from white certificates.
Overall, the softer result reflects temporary operational factors, primarily related to plant maintenance in waste. Excluding these effects, the underlying performance of the business remained broadly robust, with support from the integrated water cycle partially offsetting the pressure on waste. Let me turn to smart infrastructure. In smart infrastructure, the overall performance reflects growth in our load revenues that more than offset the negative perimeter effect in gas distribution. EBITDA of this business unit was EUR 285 million, an increase of 3% compared to the first half of 2025. In the electricity network, EBITDA benefited from higher load revenues, driven by the new ROSS tariff methodology, the regulatory lag alignment, and the continued growth of RAB, driven by CapEx deployment .
In the gas network, we saw a negative year-on-year contribution, mainly due to the disposal of the gas distribution asset completing in July 2025. The absence of non-recurring OpEx recognition that has benefited the first half of 2025. We have unpacked the result for each business unit. I'd like to conclude by illustrating the combined contribution to our EBITDA mix, group net profit, and cash flow. Slide 12, starting from EBITDA of EUR 1,181 million, D&A amounted to almost EUR 500 million, up EUR 21 million versus last year, mainly reflecting the continued deployment of CapEx. Provisions were EUR 41 million, slightly higher than last year, mainly due to our result in the market business.
Net financial expenses stood at EUR 87 million, broadly in line with last year. Despite ongoing market volatility, the cost of debt remains stable at 2.7%. Adjusted taxes amount to EUR 165 million, EUR 18 million lower year-on-year.
The tax rate stood at 29.5%, excluding the impact of the IRAP increase introduced by energy decree, which has been accounted for as a special item. As a result, adjusted group net profit came in at EUR 374 million, compared with EUR 419 million in the first half of 2025. In the first half, we continued to deliver solid returns, with a return on investment and return on equity around 9% and 11%, respectively, well aligned with our targets. Let me move to cash flows. In the first half of 2025, the group recorded a negative change in net financial position of EUR 312 million. As of June 30, our net financial position stood at EUR 5.8 billion, with a leverage duration of 2.6 x, which confirms the overall stability of our financial profile and keeps it fully aligned with our capital structure targets.
Looking at the cash generation, we deliver an operating cash flow of EUR 749 million, fully supporting the financing of our organic growth during the period. Let me briefly walk through the main drivers. Starting with the net working capital, the variation of EUR -287 million was mainly driven by two one-off events. The first was the reduction in payment terms to CSEA, following the 2026 energy decree, the Decreto Bollette . The second was the payment of the past-due state concession fees for hydroelectric concessions. Moving below operating cash flows, we paid EUR 145 million in taxes, EUR 76 million, and net financial expenses, EUR 69 million. After accounting for EUR 718 million of CapEx, the operating cash flow before dividends amounted to EUR 31 million. Following the dividend payments, net free cash flows stood at EUR-295 million.
The change in the consolidation perimeter had a negative impact of EUR 2 million, mainly driven by EUR 27 million related to M&A, partially offset by the EUR 25 million price adjustment related to the partial disposal of our gas asset to Ascopiave completed in 2025. Finally, after also having taken into account the EUR 15 million spent on our share buyback program, the overall change in net financial position for the period amounted to EUR -312 million. Looking ahead, we remain confident that the strength and the diversification of our integrated business will continue to be a key competitive advantage. It provides the flexibility needed to navigate changing market conditions. It reduces our exposure to market volatility. It bolsters the stability of our cash flows and net financial position. Now I hand back to Renato for the final part of the presentation.
Okay, thank you. Thank you, Luca. Our guidance is confirmed. I am really confident to confirm our guidance for 2026, with an adjusted EBITDA between EUR 2,210 million and EUR 2,250 million, and adjusted net profit between EUR 0.63 billion and EUR 66 million, reflecting the robustness and visibility of our business mix. The resilience of our diversified business portfolio and our ability to capture opportunities leave us really fully confident in achieving these targets . Let me conclude by bringing together all these elements we have discussed. Our strategy aims to deliver today while continually building tomorrow's growth. It is a strategy built on disciplined execution, industrial excellence, and future-fit growth. Disciplined execution underpins our ability to deliver our commitments with clear priorities and rigorous capital allocation. We are on target.
Industrial excellence is rooted in the strength of our integrated portfolio across energy, environment, and infrastructure. We are on track. Future fit growth comes from investing in platforms that respond to long-term structural trends, from decarbonization and electrification to digitalization. We are on trend. In short, this is an architecture built to last, resilient, integrated, and designed to convert opportunities into sustainable growth. Thank you very much for your attention and now let's open the Q&A session.
If you wish to ask a question, please dial the pound key, then five on your telephone keypad to enter the queue. If you wish to withdraw your question, please dial the pound key, then six on your telephone keypad. The first question comes from the line of Javier Suarez Hernandez of Mediobanca. Please go ahead.
Hi everyone. Thank you for the presentation. I have several. The first one is on the generation business. There are probably two different dynamics. One is higher electricity prices, and probably higher contribution from ancillary service activity positively impacting your activities. I just wanted to have the latest data and forward selling for electricity in 2026 and 2027. Would this upward pressure on electricity prices be impacting your business? On the contrary, probably hydro conditions during the second quarter have been lower versus the previous year. What is your expectation of the company's production with hydroelectric facilities by the year's end, and how do those assumptions compare with your assumption in the recently presented business plan? That would be the first question. The second question is more strategic and is on the interest in renewable energy.
Can you help us to understand your latest views on developing new renewable energies in Italy, the value for the group and the relative reference for brownfield assets versus greenfield assets, and also the latest views on new battery systems? The third question is, if you have any comment on the consultation document open by ARERA on ROSS implementation for gas distribution in Italy from 2028. Thank you.
Javier, good afternoon. Talking about generation, consider and you know very well that we hedge our production. For 2026, more or less is all hedged. Not all because, with flexibility exactly in the hydro production, we maintain a margin to be able not to arrive in a situation of over-hedging. The prices were fixed months ago. For 2027, considering that the scenario in this moment seems high, but the volatility is super high, it is enough that as probably all we hope tomorrow, between Trump and Iran, may try to find a solution and the scenario prices come back normal, let's say. We have 70% of the production for 2027 all covered, with a price higher than EUR 100 per megawatt, it is fine but is on budget, let's say.
Talking about the hydro condition in this moment for A2A, in this first half, it worked super well at the south. Consider that in March, as probably I said in the last call, we did all the production of 2025. For this reason, in this moment, our forecast is around 3.9 TWh , compared with an average of 4.1. Yes, there is a little reduction, but it is absolutely not really material. Talking about renewables, I think that we absolutely need them in Italy and in Europe to increase the renewable production because it is the only way to come out from this incredible situation of external dependencies, in particular from gas, petrol, and so on. For a company like A2A, let's say, works well both brownfield and greenfield. Overall in Italy, of course, we need new renewables, because that also means repowering.
For example, for wind, repowering is surely the key element to increase the total production. We are absolutely committed to our plan. There are EUR 3.7 billion of investment for another 3 GW of renewable production in the next year. Our pipeline is solid, is interesting, and is well-balanced between sun and wind. Talking about battery, it is a good question. I think that the business of batteries can work inside the MACSE tender, because merchants really find it too difficult to imagine developing this business. The next tender is in November, as you know. We are working to participate in it. You'll see in which way, in which configuration. A2A, like other large energy companies, has some plants and some sites already connected with the high-voltage power grid. That is key to developing large-scale storage plants and battery plants.
We think it will be able to participate in the next tender with an interesting proposition. Okay.
Yeah, maybe the last question was that—
On gas—
On the ARERA document of consultation, the gas distribution. I think you are referring to the introduction of the ROSS mechanism also on gas, which, frankly speaking, we think is not affecting our network so much. I remember that we managed today only the Milan network, and we already did the tender. It is something that will affect bigger players than us with a point of delivery higher than 300,000. It would not have any impact really on us.
The next question comes from the line of Emanuele Oggioni of Kepler. Please go ahead and ask your question.
Hello, can you hear me?
[crosstalk]
Good. Thank you for taking my questions. The first one is on the guidance. Apart from the numbers and the figures, what are the moving parts expected in H2? We know that, for example, apart from the usual flexibility in the aging volumes, depending on the weather, depending on the water availability and the next weather, you are not included in the potential positive effect for power prices. What are the moving parts in general by business unit in waste? Is there a recovery in waste expected or higher pressure in energy supply in other business units? This is the first more qualitative question on H2 outlook. The second is on the ETS reform, the EU ETS reform, which came out better than expected or not so bad as feared by investors. What is your comment and opinion on this?
The third one is on the market supply. In Q1, you were able to increase by 1%, but in any case, it was still an increase, a small increase, but an increase in the free market customer base. While according to the H1 data, there is a minus, so you lost a free customer base in Q2. What are the current dynamics for you and this turnaround compared with Q1 and Q2? Thank you.
Okay. Luca, start with the moving parts of guidance.
I will give you an answer on guidance and maybe some about market supply. On guidance, we are pretty comfortable about the guidance. We confirm it with some positive expectation on the generation and trading business unit, having also considered the negative impact related to hydro concession fees with an impact for the total year of more than EUR 50 million. We are able to offset it and to stay in line with the result of last year. Market, have you seen that it has been performing very well, with strong resiliency on the marginality, even though they are slightly below last year, but with an increase in the volume sold?
The churn rate is going to improve in the next month, with an expectation to stay below the end of the last year, at the end of 2026. As a consequence, with the opportunity to revert somehow, the number of acquisitions and the total customer, in particular in the electricity market, in the free market. We have a positive expectation, also in terms of marginality, to stay slightly below or near the level of 2025. Smart infrastructure, very good, very positive.
The fact that the ROSS mechanisms of the tariff have given us quite good results and opportunities for the first semester and also for the second one. Offsetting the negative effect on the gas distribution. All in all, with an opportunity to end the year higher than the last one. Circular economy: it is the business that is more suffering for the maintenance activities of the first part of the year, with a shape of recovery in the second half and ending in line with 2025. All in all, this is what let us be comfortable with the ending of 2026 results. ETS reform.
Okay, talking about ETS. The reform presented in this moment by the Commission is better than our expectation for a couple of things. The first is that talking about the proposal of change, the merit order of the plants working on ETS, and the answer from the Commission was absolutely clear. Not touch ETS and what we need to really give to renewables to be strong to win against the other sources. The second, on the opposite side, is because one of the discussions was about the application of ETS on the waste-to-energy plant. That was under discussion, and in this moment, the decision was to shift this hypothesis from 2028 to 2031 or later. Because, frankly speaking, in this moment, there is no technology worldwide better than the waste-to-energy plant to face the part of waste, not rather the new material.
What we see is an ETS that tries to be more useful for Europe but doesn't change the strategic rationale that brought ETS to be invented some years ago. Talking about supply, our strong commitment is on free market electricity and also in the second quarter, so in this first half, A2A Energia, pay attention, A2A Energia, growth 0.2%-0.3%. The little differences in this number are linked to our second brand, in particular the multi-utility, IB in Brianza, and the Acinque in the north of Lombardy. As some brands are not really able to stay with the stronger competition in terms of marketing, advertising, and so on. We don't want to push the second brand, because it is absolutely inefficient.
Frankly speaking, we are happy that with the situation of a churn rate so high, like in the first half, the capacity of acquisition of A2A Energia remains high. In June , July, and August, the churn rate falls down. We expected to be able to grow also this year with our electrical customer base.
Thank you.
The next question comes from the line of Roberto Letizia of Equita. Please go ahead and ask your question.
Yes, thank you for taking my questions. I would like to go back briefly to a couple of questions already answered, but if you can tell us exactly how much the coverage is on your production in 2027 and eventually in 2028, if you did any, for even the following year. An additional clarification, because I had the same question of Javier, but you partially skipped it, so I want to recover it. I got the sense of you being interested in the RES, the amount of gigawatts you want to do, and the pipeline, which supports both solar and wind. Just wondering how much of that can be looked into in brownfield deals rather than greenfield, considering that the market is very open. This morning, Enel announced another acquisition of 85 MW in the country.
We saw an additional M&A deal for a power generator trying to increase as rapidly as possible their RES presence. Wondering if any change in the strategy may occur from you by leading you in having a higher exposure of the growth through brownfield acquisition, as there is a market and an opportunity. If you can give us the most recent trend in retail long-term PPA, I'm just wondering if you will keep going to growth on those kinds of contracts. Then I was just wondering if there is any potential impact from the heat waves that we saw one month ago and also this day, that there was a fire in a distribution connection center in Milan just this morning and a lot of accidents during the heat wave.
Just wondering if we have to consider any potential negative impact from extraordinary maintenance to the distribution plants that follow the heat wave. Thanks a lot.
Starting from hedging, the coverage is 27% and 70%. The price is higher than EUR 100. It is good and is online with our budget and with our scenario. For 2028, now is a peanut in this moment, but it is difficult to look forward 18 months, let's say. Talking about renewable, consider that our strategy, since the first moment, was a mix between brownfield, for you, and brownfield is M&A, let's say, and greenfield. You remember very well that we bought the pipeline from Octopus Renewables, from Ardian Wind. We are working on repowering some of the portfolio wind from Ardian. From the other side, a pipeline and a new greenfield project, for example, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the north, 160 MW of solar plants, are super interesting for the position and the strong demand that we have in the north of Italy.
If you look at our 700 MW today, it is a mix of a strategy. I think that this is a good solution also for the future, probably, we maintain a solution like this because if our opportunity is correct to look, and if there is also the opportunity to buy something. From the other side, it is fundamental to have a pipeline. In this moment, we have a strong pipeline, because to be able to deliver our industrial plan, of course, we do not include into account the M&A. Our pipeline must be enough to deliver our industrial plan. M&A can be an opportunity to increase the return of investment if there are opportunities against our pipeline or our greenfield development. I think that this is the situation. Looking at Italy, once again, we need to increase the number of solar panels and wind capacity.
It is clear that M&A is not enough, in which you pass assets from one entity to the other. Talking about retail, yes, we are absolutely on track with the PPA mass market. Consider that it is interesting because of the price. I remember that in this moment, the price of a PPA, let's say with a normal profile, B2B, can be around EUR 80-EUR 85 megawatt hours. The mass market is around EUR 105; it is typical to have more marginality from B2C than from B2B. The number of contracts in this moment is more than 120,000; the number of gigawatt hours that we are allocated with PPAs for the mass market is slightly higher than the number of gigawatt hours allocated with B2B. In particular, if I well remember, it is 263 GWh of total allocation for energy for PPAs mass market.
The reason why we decided to put on the market also PPA for small businesses is that I think absolutely that the change of paradigm for renewables is exactly the capacity to fix the price for the long term, that we absolutely must build products for every kind of customer. We absolutely know that for a large company, imagine a steel plant and so on; it is normal to deal with our energy management to find the correct PPA, the correct profile, and the correct price. For a retailer, and also for a company, a small business without expertise now in energy management, or you are able to put on the market a standard PPAs, or is it possible to sign a contract for 10 years, 20 years, or 15 years and so on.
I think that really we will arrive at having one million customers with PPAs in the mass market or small business. Talking about the heat, yes, in this moment, the heat is crucial. If you look at the performance of our power grid in Milano, compared with last year, it is much better. The number of blackouts is absolutely minimum, and all the indicators, the KPI, that underline the performance are good. Absolutely, there is no extraordinary maintenance that we have to do. Simply, we have to continue to invest in a new secondary cabin, a new primary substation, a new cable, and so on, but online with our plan. We are absolutely happy to say that also in a situation in which there are 40,000 degrees, that is incredible, we are able to face the situation with a good level of satisfaction for the customer.
The only problem that we had, frankly speaking, was in Unareti, so in the company that we built last year, from which company. In Unareti, we have not the track record of CapEx that we did in Unareti in the last years.
Thanks a lot.
The next question comes from the line of Francesco Sala of Banca Akros. Please go ahead and ask your question.
Good afternoon. Thank you for taking my questions. The first one is in the treatment business. When should we expect the treatment business to go back to normal? Whether it's going to be something already in the third quarter or, let's say, towards the end of 2026? The second one is on the single national price. There have been—
Francesco, sorry. Can you come back? I didn't understand the question. The quality of—
Yeah, the first question is on the—
...audio is not good.
Sorry. The first question is on the treatment business.
Business, okay.
...some issues in the first half. I was just wondering when we should expect the business to be back to normal, whether it's a third quarter thing, let's say, towards the end of the year. The second question is on the single national price. There have been discussions for a while about the end of the single national price or on the demand side. I wonder if you can share with us your initial thoughts on the consequences you think they are going to be for you and the market. The third one, if there are updates, if any, on the extension of hydro concession and also electricity distribution concessions. Thank you.
Okay. Starting from electricity and hydro. For electricity, the last activity is in charge of the minister to produce the final decree. I talked with the manager in the ministry some weeks ago; he is on production, let's say, the decree. The historical date for the tender was 2030, and simply the laws say that five years in advance, the government had to start working for the tender. This is the reason why, in December 2024 and 2024, in the balance law, they included the law to change the needs of tender. Only to say, Francesco, that probably is not the priority number 1 in this moment, talking about 2030. We are confident to see, in September, the text of the decree coming into discussion to be closed this year.
Talking about the hydro concession is interesting because the reason why we didn't solve the problem of hydro concession till now is mainly due to the PNRR. You remember that inside the PNRR agreement, there was, in the competition law, the commitment for the government to put tender on hydro. My personal position is that we see something different after August, simply because in August, we'll end finally and totally the PNRR, with the 10th part of the money arriving from Europe. If the question is , Is there a discussion about tender? frankly speaking, in this moment, no. The only super little, super peanuts homeopathic tender in Lombardy, in one of our plants in Valle Camonica, was stopped by the civil court of Brescia because Regione Lombardia didn't do correctly the procedure to put on the market this concession.
I think that also this dossier, after August, can come back on the correct table. Your question about the single national price. The question is if we think that it's possible for a customer to have a different pool price, which is your question.
Yes, exactly.
You know, in this moment, the price is zone by zone for the producer. If you ask if I think that it's possible to have a different national price for final customers, I think that is impossible. Really, if in a country like Italy, in which the discussion about the price of electricity, you divided it into seven different parts of the country, the price. The different price is mainly linked to the national power grid by Terna, so let's say that is not strong enough to produce a unique market. You can imagine what can happen. It is not a structural problem, because it's normal to produce more sun in the south or wind in Sicily or in the south and more hydro production in Lombardy, Piemonte, or the Dolomites.
We are a country in which this different energy capacity of a single region can absolutely remain inside a unique market if the power grid is strong enough to completely connect the country, exactly like in the CapEx plan of Terna. I think really that is impossible to politically impossible to have something different from the single pool. Treatment business, the question is the performance, huh?
How is it going?
Yeah. In the first half, in particular, we had a problem with a plant, a waste-to-energy plant in Pavia, Parona. It is not an economical problem because it is well covered with insurance. Surely in the first half, we had some problem of production of some plants that we forecast to recover in the second half. In particular, consider that one of the reasons why we confirm with confidence the guidance is because we are also looking at the treatment business, a situation normalized in the second half.
Thank you.
The next question comes from the line of Davide Candela of Intesa Sanpaolo. Please go ahead and ask your question.
Hi. Good afternoon, gentlemen. Thank you for taking my question and for the presentation. I have a few regarding the current energy scenario, the curves, and the dynamics of energy prices. You spoke briefly about generation, but I was wondering if you can provide a bit broader view also on other businesses, like, for example, energy supply, if this current scenario is changing your approach commercially. There are some emerging risks with regard to your potential sourcing cost from next year and so on, if you can provide a picture of that. Secondly, on waste, I was wondering if you can or maybe incur some higher cost, mostly related to oil prices increasing, and that could be borne by your numbers and recovered in the second time. Just a bit on that.
Last one, still on renewables, was wondering if you can provide more visibility about your pipeline and which is the breakdown in terms of how many projects are ready to build or closer to the final investment decision. On that, on the return environment, if apart from the higher prices we are seeing in power, if the high interest rates or the equipment cost are challenging in a way, the return environment is also for you, or this is not an issue at all. Thank you.
Okay. Well, for the energy scenario, the situation in the last month is a little bit incredible because, from one side, all of us see the price for gas and, of course, electricity, super high. From the other side, if you look at the forward 2027 and 2028, the price falls down. Why? Because the storytelling is that the war in the Persian Gulf must finish. The effect of the decrease for oil will reduce a little bit the pool price, not with ETS, but with the gas distribution cost, so some euro per megawatt hour and so on. We continue to be in a film with a real price super high and with a forecast of more quiet. Consider that for a company like A2A, which works with strong hedging, what I can say, Davide, is that we are able every time to remain on budget.
You know our industrial plan, and the target that we introduced in the industrial plan is absolutely confirmed. One year ago, the discussion was if the scenario embedded in our industrial plan, so more or less EUR 100 per megawatt hour, was correct or too high. You remember that I said, for me, it is correct simply because we are linked to LNG. LNG, in this moment, has OPEX, so liquefaction, transport, and regasification, which brings the base cost of LNG to EUR 30 per megawatt hour. That means EUR 60; considering 50% of the efficiency of a thermal plant, more or less, you arrive at EUR 100. In this moment, the price remains higher, probably for speculation, for the situation that you know in the Persian Gulf.
I can say simply that if I look at the next two or three years, surely our budget is correct, and we are able to edge the pool price at the level that we have in our industrial plan. For the waste, I imagine you talk about collection considering the cost of oil, so gasoline, I think. Consider that, compared, for example, with the public transport, our fleet does a number of kilometers, super peanuts. If you look at a truck for collection, it is every time stopped, and the number of kilometers is really not material. Also, the total consumption of oil compared with the other cost is not enough to change the result of our economics.
Much more, for example, the cost of labor, and what is interesting is that the last negotiation on the cost of labor brings a total cost that is slightly lower than our expectation. We are not alone because there is a national negotiation. Probably we are the biggest company, so the average cost for the other players remains lower, and this is a benefit also for us. More or less, also on waste collection, we are absolutely on budget. About the pipeline, consider that our goal is to be able to build 300 MW of new solar and wind renewable every year. The pipeline is 10 times more, of course, like every pipeline, a part of ready-to-build, a part of advance, and a part of, let's say, ongoing.
In this moment, what is important is to select well what really can be a merchant and what is too high, like LCOE, to be a merchant. It is clear that the pressure on the electricity price brings all of us to build plants with low LCOE, to be able to stay well on the market, and to be able to contribute really to reduce the pool price without reduction of our marginality. The best way is to be able to build well, to build a plant with a low LCOE. That means to reduce the cost of land, of authorization, permitting, APS, and so on. All the supply chain that reduces the final cost of energy because the solar plant or also the competition in the Eolic pool between some Chinese players and the historical EU is working to reduce the inflation also in this case.
To close, surely, we are absolutely able to deliver our 300 MW every year, starting from a regime, I think, from 2028 to 2029. In this moment, for example, we have under construction 100 MW of solar plants in the north of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. As we have seen, we delivered 35 MW of new wind capacity. Also in this H1 2026, the new quantity of renewables is more than 100 MW.
I will answer your last question regarding the cost of debt. We closed the first half with the same cost of debt as we closed the fiscal year 2025. That is 2.7%, we are expecting to maintain it for all the year 2026, considering the fact that we are funding ourselves with an average cost in line with our quantities, as you've seen as the result of the cash flows analysis, but with a slightly lower or the same cost we already experienced in the first half of the year. We are also proactively managing the cost of debt, taking some positions on the market with some swap activities; this also helps us to lower the impact of the cost. We are comfortable with the future resiliency of the cost.
I have to say also that, generally speaking, the weighted average cost of capital has been lowered in such a way, this give us the opportunity to stay currently to the spread of 200 basis points between the WACC with the return, the average return of our capital allocation, our projects.
Thank you.
At this time, we will not be taking any further questions. I will therefore hand the conference back to the speakers for any closing comments.
Thank you everyone for participating to the first half results. If you need any additional follow-up, please contact the IR department, and happy summer break to everyone. Bye bye. Thank you.
Bye. Thank you very much