Judge switches off energy-saving bulbs scheme

A judge yesterday said he was not convinced the way the authorities went about setting up the recent energy-saving bulb distribution scheme was "fair and transparent".

Moreover, he said, "it does not appear that this was done because of some administrative mistake... and no valid explanation was given prima facie".

Mr Justice Tonio Mallia made the comments in a judgment authorising the issue of a warrant of prohibitory injunction to stop a company from distributing Megaman light bulbs.

Suppliers wanting to take part in the scheme, which saw the government distribute vouchers to every household entitling them to energy-saving bulbs, had to submit samples to the Malta Resources Authority for testing. The company importing the Megaman bulbs, Electrical Services and Supplies Ltd, did not do this but was still included in the scheme, the Electrical Importers Association said in their application.

The regulator had stipulated a deadline by which any company wanting to sell bulbs under the scheme should have submitted samples. Electrical Services and Supplies Ltd did not, but their bulbs were still included in the scheme, the association noted.

On this basis, the judge signed the warrant of prohibitory injunction against the company, the Malta Resources Authority and the Resources and Rural Affairs Ministry to halt the distribution. The government has also been stopped from paying the company for the bulbs already sold.

The judge said that, unless the warrant was issued, other suppliers would suffer damages.

Lawyer Simon Galea Testaferrata appeared for the Electrical Importers Association.