With the publication in the Italian Official Gazette of Law 10 April 2026, No. 49 (which converts Decree-Law 20 February 2026, No. 21, known as the energy/bills decree), the legislator intervenes clearly and decisively on one of the most sensitive issues in the sector: energy telemarketing.
The new regulation introduces a specific ban on unsolicited commercial telephone calls in the energy sector, along with additional safeguards for consumers when switching suppliers.
The energy sector is therefore undergoing a significant shift: the prohibition of unsolicited promotional calls for electricity and gas brings an end to aggressive telemarketing practices. Restrictions on the use of telephone contacts strengthen customer protection, while companies are pushed to revise their strategies by focusing on contact methods expressly desired by users, also in light of a stricter sanctions regime.
A structural change is thus taking place: energy telemarketing, already the subject of numerous disputes, is entering a phase characterized by a more stringent regulatory framework, with strong implications for privacy, consumer protection, and enforcement penalties.
The analysis is structured in two parts. In this first part, after some notes on the conversion process, the systemic framework in which Law No. 49/2026 is set is reconstructed: the relationship between privacy and consumer protection, the data protection rules currently applicable to telemarketing, and the role played in recent years by the Data Protection Authority in the energy sector. The core of the reform is then examined (the ban on unsolicited calls), drawing initial conclusions on the choice of a consumer-protection-oriented approach.
The second part will instead focus on the practical and operational aspects of the new rules: the scope of protection and the perimeter of the law (including the distinction between consumers and “domestic end customers”), the definition of the scope of the ban and its exemptions, as well as mechanisms of contact identifiability, nullity and enforcement, and the related comparison with data protection rules.
Brief notes on the legislative process
The process leading to the introduction of the ban originated within Parliament.
In fact, many of the stricter measures currently in force were not included in the original text (Decree-Law No. 21/2026) but were added and refined through amendments during the conversion process (Law No. 49/2026).
This development demonstrates the Parliament’s clear intention to curb an out-of-control phenomenon, strengthening the initial version of the decree through targeted interventions.
