Italians increasingly switch power providers

MILAN, June 1 (Reuters) - More than 2.7 million Italians have changed electricity providers since the market was fully liberalised in July 2007 and the switching rate is speeding up, Italy's energy regulator said on Monday.

In the period from July 1, 2007, to March 31, 2009, the rate of switching was 7.6 percent, among the highest rates in Europe, the regulator said in a statement.

It said that in the last three months to March 31, compared with the previous three months, 18 percent of consumers had switched power provider.

Of the 2.72 million consumers switching since July 2007, 1.64 million were families and more than 1 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), the regulator said.

Since full liberalisation was introduced some 21 months ago Italy's leading electricity providers -- including former monopoly Enel (ENEI.MI) and second-biggest utility Edison (EDN.MI) -- have launched offers to try to lure consumers.

"The problem is that since most of the electricity bill is tax, customers at the end of the day don't save that much from switching, while the average margin per client for providers is very small," said one Milan energy trader.

The regulator said that the switching rate for families was highest in the south of the country at 6.5 percent compared with 5.7 percent in the north.

In the business sector, 15.5 percent of SMEs switched provider in the north, compared with 14.2 percent in the centre and 12.9 percent in the south.

(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes, Editing by Peter Blackburn)