Terna provides a service of common interest. The community can be considered as the end user of the service and also as directly interested in investment projects for the development of the transmission grid.
The implementation of these development investments involves the use of land which is usually agricultural. To obtain the necessary areas, Terna is authorized by law to follow a dispossession procedure. However, it normally makes use of the amicable servitude process, thanks to which, as a consequence of the passage of the long distance power line on private land (building of the pylons, overhead crossing of the wires or laying the underground cables) a once-off indemnity is granted. For the landowner, the land can be used within the limits of the physical encumbrance of the pylons; in the event of removal of the lines, the land returns fully available to the owners.
In the case of building a power station, where the encumbrance is notably bigger, Terna usually purchases the necessary land.
In general terms, also in relation to its role of providing a service to the community and within the legal framework in which it operates, Terna attaches great importance to respecting all laws and regulations that affect it.

Terna holds constant relations with the sectoral authority (AEEG), with the Ministry for Economic Development and with the Ministry for the Environment. It actively collaborates with associations of operators of the transmission systems from different European countries, such as UCTE and ETSO, to compare, coordinate and determine standards and criteria for the technical and commercial management of the transmission grids and for their interconnection.
In its relations with institutions, Terna complies with the provisions of its own Code of Ethics , that specifically deals with corruption and relations with political parties. The code expressly excludes payment to political parties and their representatives. As for corruption, the provisions of the Code of Ethics are integrated into the procedures of Model 231, a control system that identifies at-risk business activities and implements a series of preventive measures, including training and the establishment of a specific supervising body.

Terna provides a constant flow of information to the national, regional and sectoral media to facilitate the knowledge, the spread and the interpretation of the company’s choices and business activities as well as its financial performance.

Terna considers an integral part of its activities the definition and implementation of initiatives of a social, humanitarian and cultural value, as an element of participation in the civil growth of the communities in which it operates. The initiatives are intended to strengthen its role in the community, to consolidate relations with associations representing environmental interests and to identify projects in support of the community. Terna also sponsors cultural and solidarity activities and makes available scholarships for academic research and training initiatives on issues related to the electricity sector.

Terna’s role in the Italian electricity system allows certain activities related to its core business to also be of general interest to the community. Such is the case for the production and distribution of information and statistics on the electricity sector and for its constant search for new solutions aiming at the improvement of the electricity service, by means of collaboration with universities and with CESI (Italian Laboratory for Electrical Engineering)