We're launching the ME BESS IT Index to track the market revenues of operating batteries in Italy. It lets owners compare their assets with others in the same zone and see which optimisation strategies work best.

Revenues in 2026 show a clear regional split. On average, Sardinian batteries earned an annualised €141k/MW/year from January to August 2026, compared with €81k in the North. The balancing market (MB) accounted for 82% of the difference.

The index covers 22 batteries totalling 1.6 GW, using unit-level trading results published by GME, Italy's power market operator. Revenues are broken down across day-ahead, intraday, dispatching and balancing services at 15-minute granularity.

Balancing set Sardinia apart

Alongside the national index, zonal indices cover the North, Sardinia and Centre-South, the zones with at least three batteries and no single battery above 60% of the zone's capacity.

Day-ahead trading is the largest source of revenue in every zone and represents €89k of the national €108k/MW/year in 2026. It paid similar amounts across zones.

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The difference came from the balancing market, where Terna, the Italian grid operator, activates batteries to increase or decrease their output in real time. Each accepted offer is paid its own price. MB contributed €55k/MW/year in Sardinia, compared with €6k in the North.

Higher balancing prices and larger activated volumes per MW explain the gap. Sardinian batteries recorded 3.6 times more activated energy per MW and 2.3 times higher net revenue per MWh activated.