UTILITIES

Utilities are somewhat confusing in Italy. Bills normally arrive once every two months and are paid directly via an automatic draft (pre-arranged with your Italian bank called a bonifico) or at the post office. You can't just write a check and mail it off or pay online.

IMPORTANT: Utility companies generally estimate how much they believe your bill will be based on prior usage. They do not actually come out and read the meters. This type of bill is called stimata (meaning estimate). Then, once or twice a year they show up to read the meter and send you an adjusted bill. If they have been estimating low, this adjusted bill could be very high. We have heard stories of adjusted bills being very high and somewhat of a surprise to the resident. You should try to keep on top of this as much as possible.