Government to introduce 'intelligent' electricity meters

The government is negotiating with suppliers to introduce "intelligent" meters that will allow consumers to better manage their electricity needs, Austin Gatt, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and communications said yesterday.

The measure forms part of the government's commitment to an energy policy aimed at securing quality of life and sustainable development, he told the World Fuel Oil summit meeting being held in St Julians.

He said the island had five important considerations in its energy policy:

It wants to establish a stable, reliable and sustainable supply of energy that meets the exponential increase in demand, as well as to reduce the carbon footprint as a contribution to efforts to check the rise in global warming. It is also committed to a pricing regime for electricity that encourages business and industrial growth but not at the cost of the private consumer, and a social framework that ensures that all members of the community can use electricity to live a full life.

It will also seek to create a billing model that carries in-built incentives to encourage efficiency and conservation and punishes waste.

The growth of the economy and improvement in the quality of life have seen Malta's consumption of oil rise by 9.2 per cent in five years.

"Although we are taking measures to secure and ensure further economic growth, quality of life and sustainable development in the face of an oil economic scenario that is unprecedented, there is no doubt in my mind that the current state of play demands that policy makers are operating in an environment where the rules of the game have changed and changed substantially," he said.

The three-day summit is being organised by Axelrod Projects Inc., a leading consulting firm, and is taking place at the Inter-Continental Hotel. The event is attended by fuel oil traders, market analysts and banking and financial executives.