Italy has handed out some 20.7 million EUAs to 93 industrial installations to help them cover their 2014 emissions, just days before operators are due to hand in their allowances.

Most EU installations received their 2014 allocations more than a year ago, but delays in verifying modifications in the Italian plants’ activities, production levels and locations are said to be holding up the country’s allocation for last year.

Italy’s environment ministry published the list of plants on Tuesday, and two brokers confirmed that some of their Italian clients finally got their 2014 allowances recently after waiting more than a year.

Installations covered under the EU ETS must hand in their 2014 emissions units by Apr. 30, otherwise they face penalties in excess of €100 per tonne.

Italy has also handed out 1.5 million EUAs to more than 40 industrial installations for their 2015 emissions, the ministry said.

The government last week said more than 300 plants were at risk of not getting this year’s allocation before the end of April. Following yesterday’s announcement, an official with the environment ministry told Bloomberg on Wednesday that around 250 will not get their 2015 quotas this month.

The European Commission on Tuesday said Italy was the only EU member state to have not yet submitted proposed changes to its EUA allocation for 2015, and that the country accounted for more than half of the 67.3 million allowances earmarked for, but not yet handed to, industrial firms this year.

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