Opposition spokesman Marlene Pullicino has accused the Prime Minister of contradicting himself on utilities tariffs.

She recalled that Lawrence Gonzi last year had said tariffs that alternate according to the fuel surcharge would benefit the consumer.

But the government had then recently proposed hefty tariffs that put pressure on families. Dr Pullicino further alleged that KPMG, the accounting firm appointed by the government to draw up the proposed tariffs, did so without considering the socio-economic impacts.

The opposition, she said, deplored the absence of concrete measures to minimise the effects of the new tariffs.