Peter Apap Bologna, Sliema
The power surcharge in perspective
The government and Enemalta have been extraordinarily inept in announcing the increase in the fuel surcharge from 50 per cent to 95 per cent, causing unnecessary panic among a large segment of the population.
In the shops, on the buses, on street corners, people roll their eyes and moan that the cost of electricity is doubling, indeed the cost of living is going to double! How on earth are we expected to cope, they ask.
Working out a calculation based on my last bill from Enemalta dated June 5, I find that the surcharge at 50 per cent amounted to €129.50. Had it been 95 per cent, the amount would have been €233.10, an increase in the surcharge of €103.60.
The total payable would then have risen from €398.44 to €502.04, an increase of 26 per cent - a substantial increase, agreed, but not a crippling doubling in the cost of domestic electricity as many are thinking.
This increase will of course also be reflected in the costs of goods and services, but again this particular item of cost is one of several others, such as rent, wages, etc., and will result in costs increasing, yes, but by a fraction (maybe substantial) of the 26 per cent increase in the domestic electricity cost. Indeed I understand that key sectors of the economy are exempted from this increase.
We live in alarming times with major world economies in, or about to be, in recession. Malta cannot be entirely immune to what is happening in the world but, to my mind, our country is in capable hands, and I feel confident that Malta will not be as badly affected as many of the large western economies. Ministers and the public administrators need to communicate better with the public and explain their actions, and the consequences thereof, so as to keep morale up, and douse scare-mongering with the facts.
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laurence schembri
Jul 5th 2008, 19:49
@ Jean-Pierre Aquilina
What the heck are you on about? Read my lips...and I repeat...if my bill on water and electricity comes to €1 I have to fork out €1.95 to cover it, I did not mention tax. And if you think that Oil is not being taxed then you must be living on Mars.
D Fenech
Jul 5th 2008, 18:20
Yes one should strive to economise on energy consumption. But in this heat ,and it feels like the heat waves are arriving sooner and lasting longer ,does one expect pensioners to swelter in the heat with detriment to their health and well being? And what about families with babies and small children and small incomes???
Yes it is sensible to save on energy but their exist situations where this is not practical. When I was a child I used to hear about countries like Dubai where people live under air conditioners all summer and this used to fascinate me. But now I am an adult and the perspective is very different. To announce such a high surcharge NOW was insensitive to say the least!
gaffarena joseph
Jul 5th 2008, 14:19
I, fully agree with all of your comments, but is there any other way,I, just arrived from Italy, and I, saw trawlers being laid off, because of the rise in fuel.I, blame the Arab world for this chaos,
Even if the vat on fuel will be removed, still we are not going to solve this problem.What I , think is that , if the govt,think seriously about the millions of euros that are being pumped to the illegal immigrants, he can decrease the surcharge, because believe me, these people are costing the tax payer millions of euros.Besides this, it is time now that personnel from enemalta will teach the public how to save energy.Otherwise i say only this. May God help us.
John Azzopardi
Jul 5th 2008, 14:04
People have a habit of going off at a tangent! But they don't mind being lulled into a false sense of security by politicians of whichever side. Anyone can realise that whichever government would be unable to sustain the subsidy that we had been used to. After all the subsidy was coming out of taxes which most of us pay anyway. The surcharge should never have existed because it distorted the true price of energy. Where politicians have failed abysmally is in not seeking alternative energy. Here I do not mean wind or solar power only. But linking up with the energy in Europe via Sicily. The options have been there for many years, but politicians do not plan many years ahead...only five years. As the public is concerned, I find it incredible how everyone and his brother wants an air conditioner at home and all the mod coms that consume energy like it was going out of fashion, and yet expect government to subsidise their energy consumption! True, not everybody has an a/c...but then the surcharge would not be impacting these people as badly as those that do.
D Farrugia
Jul 5th 2008, 13:32
How come electricity and everything goes up,but the monthly wage remains the same?It is a crippling doubling for someone who doesn't have 2 decent wages and has to live with mere €950 total income per month.
Jean Pierre Aquilina
Jul 5th 2008, 13:04
@laurence schembri
the consumption of €1 that you mention is based on prices established years back - before the sharp rise in oil prices. Your real consumption is actually the €1.95 that you mention but the subsidised portion. The surcharge is not a tax.
E Camilleri
Jul 5th 2008, 13:00
Does it occur to Mr. Apap Bologna that if he reduces his water/electricity consumption, then the bill will get lower, despite the hike in the surcharge? We are living in a time were we cannot take our energy sources for granted. There are many animal and plant species threatened by global warming. If each one of us take simple steps to reduce energy consumption I'm sure that hardships can be avoided.
Another thing why should water/electricity by subsidised by our taxes? If the surcharge is kept lower than the actual price of oil, then the difference must be paid with out taxes. Taxes should be paid at source, else it wouldn't be fair to those that are conscious about wasting energy.
laurence schembri
Jul 5th 2008, 12:16
I call this playing with figures. The fact remains that if my consumption is €1, I`ll have to pay back €1.95c, and that is a fact.
Charles.j.Schembri
Jul 5th 2008, 11:29
Peter Apap Bologna, Sliema....i just wonder, if you would have sang the same song if a labour government was in power..........I leave it up to you to think about it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Phil Pryce
Jul 5th 2008, 11:07
I found the government's scaremongering tactics patronising. Tell everyone the surcharge could be 115%, then announce 95%, so everyone will be happy. I agree with Peter; give us the facts!
D Fenech
Jul 5th 2008, 10:43
I could not believe what I was reading! Clearly ,Mr. Apap Bologna's monthly budget is in safe hands. The same cannot be said for pensioners and families on the minimum wage or worse still where the father is unemployed!
My advice! If you are financially comfortable thank your lucky stars but remember you are not everybody. Talk like this does not do anybody any good in my opinion.