Ombudsman urged to intervene over new utility rates

The Ombudsman should intervene in the dispute over the higher water and electricity rates that came into effect last year, Labour Party spokesman Joe Mizzi said.

Mr Mizzi said he had complained about the utility prices to the Office of Fair Competition, Consumer Affairs Department and the Malta Resources Authority but nothing much came out of it. Moreover, he said the MRA had only acknowledged his complaint and never replied, except when it submitted counter-protests to the two judicial protests he had filed in court over the matter.

Mr Mizzi said he wrote to the Ombudsman asking him to intervene because the entities he had resorted to were bound to protect the public's interest by law, namely the Consumer Affairs Act, the Competition Act and the Resources Authority Act.