(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 26 - The government must move fast to help Italian households and businesses hit by a record rise in gas and electricity prices amid the Ukraine war, League leader Matteo Salvini said Friday.
    Unless energy prices fall, said the nationalist leader, gas and electricity must be rationed.
    Salvini said that on the energy bill emergency, "the League asks the Draghi government to do things quickly.
    "We asked for great investment months ago, a budget adjustment, and they said No.
    "Now everyone realizes that September and October risk being devastating for households and businesses.
    "If Draghi brings to cabinet or parliament even next week a measure worth billions, tens of billions to support household and businesses, the League's vote is assured." Salvini ally and three-time former premier Silvio Berlusconi said the government was preparing a decree on the energy bill crisis.
    Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said the government wold take "incisive action".
    Italy's average electrical power price for Friday rose to an average 713.69 euro per MWh aftre peaking at a new record 870 euros.
    European gas prices closed at a new record 339 euros per megawatt hours on Friday, after a call by former industry minister Carlo Calenda to suspend the September 25 general election campaign to address the energy crisis. The price of gas rose by 10%.
    Salvini added on Friday "if the price does not fall, the next government...will have to ration electricity and gas starting with businesses.
    "I's like to avoid it, but (French President Emmanuel) Macron has already said (he will ration power supplies), and France has dozens of operational nuclear reactors.
    "We haven't got that, we only import energy from abroad, so if we don't intervene there is an absolutely concrete risk of having to decide who will heat their homes and plants and who won't be able to, who will turn on the lights and who no," said the League leader and former interior minister, whose centre right colaition led by the far right Brothers of Italy (FdI) party is forecast to win Italy's general election on September 25.
    Salvini said at least 30 billion euros would be needed to address the energy emergency.
    He said Russian sanctions were not stopping the Ukraine war and in the meantime Italy was "on its knees" amid alleged blackmail on gas supplies from Moscow.
    Premier Mario Draghi said Wednesday that gas and other energy sources had reached "unsustainable" costs and reiterated Italy's demand for a price cap at a national and European level.
    Draghi has managed to get the EU to commit to considering an energy price cap next month.
    Draghi said gas stocks, which are currently around 80%, should be further boosted so that there would be less impact from a possible interruption of Russian supplies amid the Ukraine war.
    He said Russian gas imports "are increasingly less significant and a possible interruption of them would have a lower impact, with stocks currently running at around 80% and in line with the goal of reaching 90% by the end of October".
    Draghi told the Catholic lay group Communion and LIberation (CL) that regassification terminals were "fundamental" for national energy security.
    He said that "with the new regassification terminals Italy will be able to be completely independent of Russian gas from autumn 2024.
    "This is a fundamental goal for national security".
    Draghi said that unlike other European countries such as Germany, Russian gas was ever less significant for Italian needs and plans had been laid for savings "at an increasing intensity".
    The Italian government has been working hard to end the nation's reliance on Russian gas since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, reaching and preparing a series of agreements to boost supplies from elsewhere.
    The proportion of Italy's gas supplied by Moscow has already fallen from 40% at the start of the conflict to around 25% now, sources said recently.
    Algeria's share has risen to over 30%.
    The Italian government has "moved rapidly" to diversify suppliers by scrambling to set up alternatives with countries like Algeria, Angola, Congo, Libya, Egypt, Israel and Mozambique, Premier Draghi said.
    Fuels giant Eni recently joined the world's largest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Qatar, and on Monday announced a highly significant gas find off Cyprus.
    Italy's economy, industry and ecological transition ministries have been looking at ways to help households and businesses to cope with spiraling energy costs.
    The government has already passed price-curbing measures and has been asked to use a possible windfall levy on huge power company profits to do more. (ANSA).