Pre-tax fuel prices in Malta are the highest in the European Union, data published by Eurostat covering the second half of 2015 show.
The data broke petrol prices down into two categories: pre-tax and at-the-pump prices.
Pre-tax petrol prices stood at 62c and diesel prices 63c per litre in Malta, while the EU average across 28 countries was 44c for both types of fuel.
At €1.35 per litre, Maltese motorist’s petrol bill moves closer to the EU average of €1.30 once taxes and duties have been factored in.
However, diesel prices in Malta stood at €1.26 per litre, while the EU at-the-pump average was €1.13.
This means that Malta’s at-the-pump petrol price was the seventh highest in the EU, while the diesel price was the fourth highest.
The EU at-the-pump average for diesel was €1.13
Under the previous administration, fuel prices were subject to monthly fluctuations. The current government has opted for a policy of fuel price stability, which it says enables businesses and families to plan ahead.
On the energy front, domestic consumers in Malta enjoy the fifth lowest electricity prices. The Eurostat report said that, between the second half of 2014 and the second half of 2015, electricity prices for households decreased in 12 EU member states. During this same period, prices increased by 27 per cent in Latvia and 15 per cent in Belgium.
Households in Malta paid 12.7 cents per kWh in the second half of 2015, compared to an EU average of 21.1 cents per kWh.
Industrial consumers in Malta are less lucky, as they were paying the fifth highest prices in the EU during the second half of 2015. Malta’s industrial electricity prices stood at 13.7 cents per kWh while the EU average was 11.9 cents per kWh.
Italy had the highest industrial electricity prices in the EU, while Sweden boasted the lowest.
Calls for lower industrial electricity prices have been brushed off by the government during the last two budgets. Last month, the Chamber of Commerce said it was far from happy with the current energy rates.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has repeatedly insisted that electricity prices should not track fluctuations in international prices. Speaking during a press conference after last month’s budget speech, Dr Muscat said the only person expecting a reduction in energy tariffs was Opposition leader Simon Busuttil.
In a pre-budget document, the GRTU called on the consumer authority to investigate the prices at which energy bought from the Malta-Sicily interconnector is being sold in Malta, adding that there should be a second operator to run the interconnector.
jacob.borg@timesofmalta.com