“Ricerca di Sistema” (RdS) is a public fund mechanism which aims to finance research projects to develop the innovation of the national electricity system and to make the Italian electricity system (and energy system in general) safer, more efficient, more sustainable, both in economic and environmental way.
The fund is empowered by a part of the money from the national electricity bills and is managed by Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security and CSEA (Cassa per i Servizi Energetici e Ambientali).
Although a family contributes less than 1€ per year to the RdS fund (considering the electricity consumption of an average Italian household), since 2003 almost 1 billion euro has been allocated, financing more than 400 research projects.
These projects are carried out by the main Italian research institutions (such as ENEA, CNR and RSE and the various universities) and by national companies.
Their results improved the system reliability, the service quality and, at the same time, gave contribution to reduce the cost of energy, the environment and health impact, allowing the rational use of energy resources to ensure the conditions for sustainable national development.