Terna uses the monthly industrial electricity consumption index (IMCEI) to monitor the industrial consumption of around 1,000 large energy consumers* connected directly to the Italian National Transmission Grid. These “energy intensive” companies operate in the cement, lime and gypsum, iron and steel, chemicals, mechanical engineering, transport, food, paper, ceramics and glass, and non-ferrous metal sectors which, as the term suggests, require more energy to operate.

Electricity consumption is a good indicator of the country’s economic development, which is usually expressed in terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product). By analysing the monthly trend of the IMCEI, it is possible to get a sense of the economic climate quickly and before national economic statistics are available. This consumption data was used to construct an adimensional index with 2015 as the base year.