I have followed the events surrounding the major power cuts that affected much of Malta with interest. My reason for writing is to share my own understandings of such incidents while I worked for British Telecommunications in the UK.
Margaret Thatcher privatised what was then our old Post Office and created the BT of today.
At that time, OFTEL was created to regulate the telecommunications sector. My company was then a virtual monopoly supplier like Enemalta.
Because of that privileged position, we were obliged to create a Customer Service Guarantee Scheme, where it was mandated that rental rebates would become applicable whenever a fault extended beyond contract time scale.
In addition, we forged an actual financial compensation scheme where both business and residential customers could claim compensation.
Residential customers who could prove a loss could claim up to £5,000 (€6,257), business customers £20,000 (€25,000). BT was obliged to administer the scheme and I became the review manager for the entire business.
Before the Office of Telecommunications would consider a claim, I needed to thoroughly review the claim and consider issues like mitigation.
What actions did the customer take to minimise losses? What action did BT take to mitigate the time taken to restore service?
The financial package being proposed by the government for the power cut is a sticking plaster solution. A one-off payment will be made to Enemalta to do with it what it will. I think much more needs to be done.
Enemalta is a monopoly supplier of energy to these islands and is unlikely to face competition as happens in much larger economies across the EU. Therefore, a regulatory framework must be established. Enemalta must contract with its customers to guarantee service restoration within say, four hours.
If it fails to do this, it must compensate customers on a base rate to be agreed between itself and the energy regulator.
It must also agree a proper means of paying actual financial loss to those customers who can prove loss.
From my memory, BT could opt out of the scheme where “matters beyond our reasonable control” took place.
My purpose in writing is to say quite simply that the government’s one-off goodwill gesture is no substitute for a contractually regulated system where both Enemalta and its customers have rights and obligations which need to have the force of law behind them.
I hope my comments give everyone concerned a little food for thought.