Energy-efficient appliances scheme extended to July 6

The government has decided to accede to retailers' request and extend the scheme on energy-efficient domestic appliances to July 6, The Times has learned.

The government had made a hush-hush announcement in the Government Gazette on April 22 terminating the scheme as of May 31. Soon after, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said retailers had asked the government to extend the scheme until the Trade Fair because it was serving as an incentive for people to purchase appliances.

The scheme was received very positively since its introduction on November 1, 2006, with nearly 29,000 applications being submitted for a rebate.

Since its introduction, the government has handed out a total of €1.88 million (Lm810,000) to consumers who chose to buy an energy-efficient domestic appliance.

The European Union had given the Maltese government €1.3 million for the scheme and the government had decided to add another €500,000 to the amount. However, the scheme was so successful that it was over-subscribed by a further €80,000. This brought the total amount handed out to consumers to €1.88 million.

The scheme enabled consumers to request a 20 per cent - up to €116.47 (Lm50) - discount on the purchase of energy-efficient domestic appliances.

Consumers could receive a maximum grant of €58.23 (Lm25) for a Class A dishwasher, up to €116.47 (Lm50) for refrigerators and freezers and a maximum grant of €58.23 (Lm25) for Class A washing machines, tumble driers and air-conditioning units.

The figures of the energy-efficient appliances purchased during this period showed that people were choosing such products over others that were not energy efficient. The same cannot, however, be said for air conditioners because, despite the rebate, people were still choosing cheaper equipment imported from outside the European Union with poorer energy classifications. These came mainly from China and Egypt.

The air conditioner is the appliance with the highest electricity consumption in a household.

A spokesman for the Malta Resources Authority, which was managing the scheme, told The Times that the objective of the energy efficient appliances rebate was adopted as a one-year measure by the government to instil a change in mentality and practice among consumers, importers and retailers in favour of products that are more environmentally friendly.

By using a more energy-efficient appliance, the consumer would, in the longer term, be facing a lower electricity bill.

The spokesman said that, on average, the authority received about 1,600 applications a month. It rejected a total of about 3,000 applications for various reasons, mainly because of the lack of a fiscal receipt.

Official statistics are not available because there is no database of imported domestic appliances and their energy classification. Retailers keep a record of sales but not of the energy classification.

However, a survey conducted among importers - and not all the importers collaborated in the exercise - revealed an increase in the percentage of energy-saving appliances when compared to the previous year.

For example, whereas only 10 per cent of refrigerators were class A+ and A++ in 2006, the figure climbed to 29 per cent in 2007. Similarly, the 36 per cent of A, A+ and A++ freezers rose to 77 per cent in one year.

With regard to air conditioners, the 16 per cent figure in the case of energy-efficient units increased to 44 per cent last year.

According to this survey, the percentage of sales of energy-efficient washing machines and dishwashers was already high when the scheme was introduced but this percentage continued to climb last year.

The 75 per cent figure for washing machines increased to 86 per cent while the 85 per cent in the case of dishwashers increased to 96 per cent. All figures are higher than the EU15 average for 2005.

The spokesman said that another survey conducted among consumers who applied for the rebate revealed that some of those who purchased a new appliance - mainly refrigerators and washing machines - continued to use their old appliance or else simply did not dispose of it.

In addition to the rebate scheme, the government also introduced a grant of 15.25 per cent on the purchase price of electric-powered cars to a maximum grant of €1,164.69 (Lm500) and a grant of 25 per cent on the purchase price of roof thermal insulation material applied to domestic premises with a maximum grant of €232.94 (Lm100).