Italy aims to defend national ownership of hydro power plants, minister says

MILAN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Italy is seeking to keep the contracts to run hydro power plants in the hands of domestic companies, Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said on Monday, as the U.S.-Iran conflict puts national energy security at the top of the government's agenda.

• "Today, we recognise that we must also safeguard national ownership of hydro power plants," Pichetto Fratin said, speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Milan.

• He said the government is talking to Brussels to try to row back on a previous commitment to put expiring hydro power concessions out to public tender for both domestic and foreign operators.

• Hydro power plants are the biggest source of renewable energy in Italy.

• Contracts to run them are mainly managed by domestic utilities - including Enel, Edison and A2A - under long-term concessions.

• Power costs in Italy, where around 40% of electricity comes from gas-fired plants, rose to around €225 per megawatt hour on Monday as Europe's wholesale gas prices hit their highest intraday levels since late 2022.

• Italy last week adopted measures aimed at boosting domestic oil and gas production, including cutting red tape for drilling licences.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini, editing by Gavin Jones)