This is the Electi review. Today, Italy's mandatory energy audit and why treating it as a checkbox is the mistake that costs companies the most. Under Legislative Decree 102 of 2014, Italy requires periodic energy audits from two categories of business. Large companies, more than 250 employees, plus revenue over 50 million euros, or a balance sheet over 43 million euros, and energy-intensive businesses, those consuming at least 2.4 gigawatt hours a year, where energy costs eat up 2 to 3% of revenue. For 2026, a new threshold complicates the picture. Companies whose total energy consumption exceeds 10 terajoules a year now fall under the requirement, with a first deadline of October 11, 2026. Companies already inside the four-year cycle, which started back in December 2015, faced their next review in 2027. Two different clocks, same law, and that's exactly where confusion sets in. Exemptions exist. Public administrations listed by Istat are out. So are companies consuming under 50 tons of oil equivalent. Buildings get pulled in too, whenever a heating system rated 100 kilowatts or more is installed or renovated. The report itself isn't optional paperwork. It has to follow Annex 2 of the decree and the UNE CEIN 16247 standards, and it must be produced by a certified energy manager, an ESCO, or a certified auditor, not just anyone with a spreadsheet. Skip it, and the fine runs from 4,000 to 40,000 euros. That's the stated cost of non-compliance. But the more expensive failure is treating the audit as a one-off. The four-year cycle assumes continuous data, consumption records, facility data, comparisons over time. A company that files the report and forgets it loses the actual value, spotting waste and prioritizing investment before the next deadline arrives. The regulation doesn't care whether you find this useful. It cares whether your employee count, revenue, balance sheet, and consumption data cross its thresholds. Check those four numbers first. Everything else, the consultant, the standard, the filing, comes after. That's the review.