Red lights flash again in court

A court yesterday provisionally upheld a request for a prohibitory injunction to stop the government's energy-saving bulbs distribution scheme.

Until the court makes its final decision, people will still be able to take advantage of the scheme, through which the government distributed vouchers to every household entitling them to free energy-saving bulbs.

The Resources Ministry has one week to file a counter reply in court.

The request to stop the scheme came from a company that was banned from distributing its bulbs by similar court action set in motion by its competitors.

The company, ESS Ltd, was stopped from distributing its Megaman light bulbs after a court upheld a request filed by the Electrical Importers Association, who complained that the company did not submit samples of its bulbs to the Malta Resources Authority for testing as required but was still included in the scheme.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Tonio Mallia queried the way the authorities went about the setting up of the scheme and wondered whether it was "fair and transparent".