1. Introduzione
The electrification of port berths (“cold ironing”) is one of the key instruments in the transition towards sustainable maritime transport, as its primary objective is to reduce the negative externalities associated with the use of fossil fuels while ships are berthed in port. This is achieved by enabling berthed vessels to switch off their onboard engines and auxiliary generators, replacing onboard power generation with a direct connection to the onshore electricity grid.
A comprehensive regulatory turning point for cold ironing is taking shape in 2026 and is, to date, articulated through two complementary measures that form a single regulatory framework. The first is Decree No. 10 of the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport of 22 January 2026 (the “Decree”), adopted pursuant to Article 34-bis, paragraph 1, of Decree-Law No. 162/2019, which sets out the operational definitions, the procedures for awarding concessions, the requirements applicable to the operator, information obligations and the monitoring mechanism for incentive measures. The second consists of the Guidelines for the award of cold ironing service concessions and the preparation of tender documents (the “Guidelines”), issued on 16 July 2026 by the Directorate-General for Ports, Logistics and Intermodality following a consultation process involving the Port System Authorities, the General Command of the Port Authority Corps and the main trade associations representing the port and energy sectors.
The purpose of the Guidelines is to translate the provisions of the Decree into operational directions for the preparation of tender procedures, with a view to ensuring clear, uniform and transparent criteria for all Port System Authorities (the “AdSPs”) when preparing and conducting concession procedures. This is particularly relevant at a time when numerous facilities have already been completed or are approaching commissioning and therefore require a uniform procedural framework for the commencement of the service.
The national regulatory framework described above represents the domestic legal system’s response to the development of cold ironing. It is functionally and teleologically connected with the broader European Union framework, which imposes mandatory deadlines and specific obligations on shipping operators and port operators, and of which the national framework constitutes the implementing instrument at domestic level.
2. The framework in brief
As already discussed in the previous contribution addressing the cold ironing system (available here: > On the electrification of port quays: the cold ironing System), it is worth recalling that the cold ironing service, understood as the “set of structures, works and installations built on land that are necessary to supply electricity to vessels moored in port”, constitutes a service of general economic interest (SGEI).This follows from Article 34-bis, paragraph 1, of Decree-Law No. 162 of 30 December 2019, which, read in conjunction with Article 6, paragraph 10, of Law No. 84 of 28 January 1994, identifies the principles laid down by the Italian public procurement code (i.e. Legislative Decree No. 36 of 31 March 2023, hereinafter the “Public Procurement Code”) as the governing principles for procedures aimed at selecting the operator responsible for the infrastructure for the provision of cold ironing services. In any event, the contractual instruments that may be used include contractual public-private partnerships, including project-finance arrangements, as well as mixed concession contracts.
Within this regulatory framework governing public contracts and service concessions, the Guidelines – and, consequently, this article – focus on certain aspects considered central to guiding the assessment and decision-making process of the AdSPs in connection with procedures for awarding cold ironing services.
3. Definition and organisation of the award procedure for the cold ironing service
The Guidelines regulate the operational stage, namely the preparation of the tender documents, beginning with the definition of their scope. AdSPs may organise the procedure by lots or by individual ports within the system, in application of the principles of achieving the intended outcome, economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
Before preparing the tender notice, however, the document requires a preliminary fact-finding stage involving the organisation of the service. During this stage, the AdSP is required to engage with all stakeholders, including, in particular: (i) the Maritime Authority, with regard to navigational safety and port security; (ii) stakeholders in the electricity sector, with regard to the technical characteristics of substations, the technical specifications governing ship-to-shore connections and energy procurement arrangements; (iii) port users, with regard to energy requirements and the frequency of vessel calls; and (iv) terminal operators holding concessions pursuant to Article 18 of Law No. 84 of 28 January 1994 or Article 36 of the Italian Navigation Code where such concessions concern the same berth.
With specific regard to the latter entities, one of the most delicate issues addressed by the document arises, namely the coexistence of multiple concessions over the same state-owned area. Where the cold ironing facility is located on areas already subject to a concession, the AdSP must regulate both the operational relationship between the concessionaires and the impact of such coexistence on the economic and financial balance of the concessions. Where such coexistence gives rise to economic imbalances, the Guidelines identify, as remedies, a reduction of the fixed portion of the concession fee or, where this is insufficient, the restoration of the economic and financial balance of the pre-existing concession through the legal instruments available under the applicable legal framework.
These findings – relating, inter alia, to service obligations and quality standards, technical and operational characteristics, infrastructure management and maintenance, tariff criteria, risk allocation, operational continuity and interference with terminal and port activities – will inform the preparation of the tender documentation, namely the tender notice, the specifications, the PEF model to be attached pursuant to Article 182, paragraph 5, of the Public Procurement Code, and the contract to be executed following the award. This is intended to ensure that the contracting authority defines, as precisely as possible, the scope of the activities entrusted to the concessionaire and the relevant regulatory and economic framework.
4. Maintenance, operational continuity and insurance coverage
In addition to relations with other concessionaires, the technical operation of the infrastructure over time must also be ensured, beginning with maintenance obligations. Under Article 1, paragraph 1, point 6, of the Decree, the cold ironing service includes the management and both ordinary and extraordinary maintenance of the facilities necessary for its operation. Accordingly, the Guidelines require the AdSP to define precisely the maintenance obligations to be borne by the concessionaire, taking into account the remaining warranties provided by manufacturers and any maintenance obligations already entrusted to the entities that constructed the facilities for a period following commissioning, thereby avoiding overlaps or gaps in responsibility.
There is also a need to ensure continuity of servicein the event of failures or emergencies. For this reason, the concessionaire must prepare an operational continuity and emergency management plan, to be updated periodically and containing procedures for responding to failures or interruptions, maximum restoration times, safety measures, coordination with the AdSP, the Maritime Authority and terminal operators, user information procedures, and solutions designed to mitigate the risk of service interruption.
To complete this framework, the Guidelines also regulate the insurance regime. AdSPs must ensure that the tender notice requires bidders to undertake to take out an appropriate insurance policy covering risks arising from the operation of the service and management of the infrastructure, including third-party liability, with a coverage limit proportionate to the economic value of the concession.
5. Tariffs and the economic and financial sustainability of the concession
The Guidelines devote considerable attention to the structure of the tariffs applicable to service users. The tariff formula comprises a component for the connection/disconnection service, an energy component – based on a fixed, indexed or hybrid pricing mechanism, including through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) – and a component linked to the contracted capacity.
To enable economic operators to submit informed bids on this basis, the Guidelines require the AdSP to make an adequate information base available pursuant to Article 182, paragraph 2, of the Public Procurement Code. The tender notice must therefore be accompanied by an information set containing historical data on vessel traffic and electricity consumption for vessels calling at or based in the port, broken down by individual vessel call and covering a period of no less than three years. The Guidelines identify, as reference parameters, the reference energy demand (“Ebase”, expressed in MWh/year) and the total number of reference connections (“Nconn”, expressed as the number of events/year), which are useful for measuring deviations and triggering any rebalancing mechanisms.
On this basis, the key instrument underpinning the entire procedure is developed, namely the Financial and Economic Plan (“PEF”). Article 182, paragraph 5, of the Public Procurement Code requires tender notices and their annexes, including the draft contract and the PEF, to be structured so as to ensure adequate bankability, understood as the availability on the financial market of resources proportionate to the financing requirements, the sustainability of such sources of financing and an adequate return on invested capital. Article 185, paragraph 5, of the Public Procurement Code further requires the evaluation committee to verify the adequacy and sustainability of the PEF before awarding the score for the economic offer.
The PEF is therefore the instrument through which the operational risk is effectively allocated between the granting authority and the concessionaire. Its adequacy presupposes that the tender documents clearly identify the services and obligations to be performed by the concessionaire and quantify their economic burden, also taking into account the potential impact of concessions covering the same area or berth on which the cold ironing facility is located.
Under Article 177, paragraph 5, of the Public Procurement Code, the economic and financial balanceexists where the project’s expected revenues are capable of covering operating and investment costs, servicing and repaying debt capital, and providing a return on equity. Given the potentially multi-year duration of the concessions, AdSPs may provide for periodic reviews of the economic and financial balance, including through the updating of economic, tariff or operational parameters, or may consider including renegotiation clauses pursuant to Article 9, paragraph 4, of the Public Procurement Code.
This assessment also informs the determination of the duration of the concession pursuant to Article 178 of the Public Procurement Code. Under that provision, concessions must be limited in duration and their term must be determined by the granting authority according to the works or services required. In the case of concessions exceeding five years, the duration may not exceed the period reasonably required for the concessionaire to recover the investments made together with a return on the capital invested.
Against this background, the indicative duration of cold ironing service concessions may range between 5 and 10 years, according to the outcome of the consultation with stakeholders in the energy sector conducted during the preparation of the Guidelines.
Finally, as a safeguard for such balance, the Guidelines require the AdSP to consider including, in the tender documentation and concession agreement, accounting separation obligations for the concessionaire. These are intended to ensure transparency in the determination of tariffs and the verifiability of the economic and financial balance of the concession. In particular, separate accounting evidence must be provided for the economic components relating to the operation of the service, infrastructure maintenance, any public contributions received, and any additional or ancillary activities carried out. This must ensure verification of the consistency between costs, investments and tariffs, the proper allocation of public contributions, and the preservation of the economic and financial balance.
6. Quality requirements and monitoring of the concession
With regard to the period following the commencement of the concession, the document establishes mechanisms for monitoring the concession over time, from a qualitative, tariff and economic-financial perspective. The service is organised and operated under the supervision of the AdSP, in compliance with the principles of transparency, fairness and non-discrimination. Since the service is supplied through a Point of Delivery (POD) of the electricity grid, the quality standards established by the relevant sector-specific regulation already apply. The concessionaire’s role therefore focuses primarily on its ability to ensure the continuity and reliability of the service, based on minimum quality requirements relating to the adequacy, in quantitative and qualitative terms, of its personnel, the continuity and reliability of the service, proper maintenance planning, and the promptness of interventions in the event of an interruption.
These requirements are complemented by the tariff regime. Tariffs must be transparent, non-discriminatory, consistent with costs and quality requirements, and geared towards energy efficiency. To safeguard these obligations, AdSPs establish a periodic monitoring system, at least every two years, to verify consistency between the service provided, the tariffs applied and the minimum quality requirements.
This is supplemented by broader monitoring of the concession as a whole. AdSPs must establish appropriate systems for technical, operational and economic-financial monitoring, together with periodic reporting obligations for the concessionaire. These mechanisms are intended to verify compliance with concession obligations, the maintenance of service levels, the proper application of tariffs, the adequacy of maintenance activities, and the preservation of the economic and financial balance.
7. Conclusions
In light of the foregoing, several conclusions may be drawn regarding the regulatory framework governing cold ironing. While the 2026 regulatory package undoubtedly represents progress towards a more systematic regulation of the sector, it has already highlighted certain implementation issues raised by the shipping community. From an organisational perspective, concerns have been expressed regarding the risk of an excessively fragmented model. A coordinated national planning approach involving ports, energy operators and the shipping sector has therefore been advocated, together with tender procedures capable of ensuring appropriate service levels and tariffs, while the actual economic attractiveness of the service remains to be clarified.
That said, the potential synergy between cold ironing, Renewable Energy Communities and collective self-consumption configurations is certainly a positive development. A number of sector initiatives have already emerged in this area, some of which converge with the optional instruments provided for by the Guidelines, such as energy storage systems and configurations for distributed self-consumption.
