Energy bills to be slashed by 'at least' 20%

Joe Galea

Mar 23rd 2009, 08:33

The utility bills were raised by 125%. So Gonzi due to the upcoming elections is going to give us back 20% from the lot he is robbing us. Tears come to my eyes thinking about the kindness of Gonzi. He should be made saint.....lol

What about the "nivvota bil-qalb kontra?"....Another Gonzi U-turn as elections are on the way!!!!

J. Abela

Mar 23rd 2009, 00:03

20% on the REVISED tariffs. Everyone should be jumping with joy!

Quoting - "$147 to some $40"..considerable price drop!

Francesca Mizzi

Mar 22nd 2009, 21:46

Obviously before the June elections the tariffs are to be revised. Otherwise the PN would fear a disasterous result. But whom do you think you are fooling? Only yourselves. Maltese people deserve better than this cause they are much better and smarter than the current government!!

Eugenio Taliana

Mar 22nd 2009, 21:02

A PN without a social conscience . . . heard that before being mentioned for another party!

Kurt Mifsud

Mar 22nd 2009, 18:27

Aaaaahhhh so what happened Dr Gonzi to the famous frase "Nivvota kontra, u nivvota bil-qalb" to the reform proposal of the PL? Maybe because the EU MEP elections are approaching now?!

Anyway, reduction from what? Still higher than before even if the oil prices have gone down more than before. In other countries tariffs have been lowered months ago!

Thanks PL cause once again you were right!

F Borg

Mar 22nd 2009, 12:35

Gone-zipn can do whatever he pleases as usual. I WILL NOT vote anyone having to do with the pn. This is just a gimmick for the June mep elections. Ghazziztuna - a former nationalist.

R Dimech

Mar 22nd 2009, 11:24

Since when does the Malta Resources Authority need to give its approval for a REDUCTION in prices?? When it should really have been involved, when tariffs were INCREASED last year, nobody thought of getting its approval! U halluna!

Andrew Mangion

Mar 22nd 2009, 11:13

20% reduction from what? The rates before October 2008 or after this date??

If it's the first well and good because this would start reflecting the oil prices from December onwards, if the reduction is against the exorbitant increases, then the electricity bills are still a burden to everyone and the common citizen has to pay for the gross inefficiences (and I'm not referring to the obsolete equipment only) in the administration of Enemalta.

Quote: Sources said the government was planning to reduce water and electricity rates by at least 20 per cent, "in reflection of the declining oil prices".

If this is true, then Enemalta should have started revising the prices from October onwards. The following is the prices for 2008 of crude oil copied from the OPEC website:

Feb-08 90.64
Mar-08 99.03
Apr-08 105.16
May-08 119.39
Jun-08 128.33
Jul-08 131.22
Aug-08 112.41
Sep-08 96.85
Oct-08 69.16
Nov-08 49.76
Dec-08 38.6
Jan-09 41.54
Feb-09 41.41
Mar-09 43.72

Any further comment other than 'we are being robbed' is superflous.

S. Camilleri

Mar 22nd 2009, 11:07

So let me get this straight ... For the Government it is ok to raise rates astronomically, backdated and without justification without a go ahead from the Regulator. But when it comes to a paltry cut, it is not backdated and we have to wait for approval from the Regulator!

Double standards and election gimmicks. L-ispizjar milli jkollu jtik!!!!!!

P.Zammit

Mar 22nd 2009, 11:06

Dont be naive Roberto Vella.

It takes the opposition some 3 second wind to utter that certain things should happen in so and so manner. The reality of the public sector is different. Just to give you and childish example. It take next to nothing for J.Muscat to be popularist and say we should have wind energy. It probably takes years and years to implement it though. Once done, however, will you be saying J.Muscat was right and proceed to dman the government for taking long to do it?

Shall I say J.Muscat should give all the expropriated property taken by the MLP government and converted to MLP clubs abusively back to their owners NOW, today! and see how long (if ever) he will do this ?

Be real man, things dont happen overnight, not even when increases occured, we were warned that this was going to happen months and months before...but when the day comes, it just comes, and then people complain that increases came overnight. Of course because they were living in the moon when months before the price of oil and how its purchased by malta was going up.

M. Mizzi

Mar 22nd 2009, 10:20

Back-dated? Or just an election gimmick in view of the forthcoming MEP elections?

roberto vella

Mar 22nd 2009, 10:18

So it seems the PL and the unions were right after all! Otherwise the PM would not have changed course on this wouldn't he. Well, let's be honest, he's only doing this beacuse we are nearing an election otherwise the status quo would have prevailed.

Once government is going down this road might as well do a complete uturn and take up the PL proposal of withdrawing the tariffs and any revisions should be carried out as from October. Oil prices have been declining for quite some time but I guess government wanted to earn an extra cut at the consumers' expense. Very much like the VAT on car registration after all. That too was kept till the very last minute milking as much as possible only for the system to be revised in time to avoid any EU comments as it did with Poland.

Another small observation...how will consumers be refunded for any bills they have paid under the "new" tariff regime?