18 Provisions for risks and charges

Provisions for risks and charges of €842 million (€837 million at 31 December 2013) are analysed in the table below:

The provision for site dismantlement and restoration (€512 million) was recognised primarily due to expenses which are expected to be borne for the removal of natural gas storage facilities and for site restoration (€428 million). Changes in estimates (+€20 million) relate mainly to the revision of the estimated costs of withdrawing from and restoring natural gas storage sites due to lower expected discount rates.

The provision for environmental risk and charges (€143 million) mainly included costs for environmental soil reclamation, which is required under Law 471/1999 as amended, primarily for the disposal of solid waste, related to the distribution business.

Other provisions (€128 million) relate essentially to: (i) expenses that may arise from the commercial balancing activity and referring to counterparty risks relating to the entry of new operators into the natural gas market (€40 million); (ii) expenses recognised to offset the item “Change in inventories”, arising from the difference between the estimated quantities of Unaccounted-For Gas (UFG), which the Company expects to calculate definitively in the four-year period 2014-2017, and the forecast quantities that will be granted in kind by users as required by Resolution 514/2013/R/gas (€40 million); and (iii) the estimated expenses relating to termination benefits (€23 million).