Enemalta is expected to recover “millions of euros” after it reached repayment agreements with some 850 individuals who tampered with their electricity meters, the Times of Malta has learnt.

Those who defaulted on repayment programmes would be disconnected immediately, Frederick Azzopardi, chairman of the State energy provider, warned.

He said efforts to recover losses from electricity theft had been stepped up since last year.

“Our priority as a company is to secure revenues, recover the cost of the stolen electricity and ensure that we learn from each case identified,” Mr Azzopardi said.

The agreements took various forms and while some would see instant repayment of both the stolen electricity and a fine of twice the stolen amount, others had agreed to slowly settle their debt over several months.

“We won’t be seeing an instant influx of money, what we are expecting is a steady repayment,” Mr Azzopardi told the Times of Malta.

The energy theft problem made it to the national agenda last year when Enemalta said more than 1,000 people were suspected of regularly stealing electricity.

We won’t be seeing an instant influx of money, what we are expecting is a steady repayment

The government had subsequently offered an amnesty to those who admitted theft, as long as they settled their dues and spilled the beans on those who helped them to circumvent the system.

Some 430 consumers had applied for the amnesty and more than a dozen Enemalta employees were suspended for their alleged involvement in meter rigging.

Mr Azzopardi explained that the 850 payment programmes included a mix of those who signed up for the amnesty, cases that dated back several years and which had been lost in the system, and new cases discovered in recent months.

He said nearly 70 domestic and commercial inspections were being carried out every month. By way of comparison just a handful were done between 2012 and 2013.

These, he said, were being carried out daily, and were the result of prolonged investigations, anonymous tip-offs as well as a number of random checks.

Mr Azzopardi said potential thieves were singled out through several methods, including basic deduction.

“If we notice a series of thefts from particular types of establishments, then the chances are other establishments are stealing electricity too,” he said.

Inspections, however, are not the only way Enemalta is cracking down on irregularities.

A dedicated team of technicians has received specialised training and equipment to identify cases of potential theft. But details on these ‘energy detectives’ are scant since the provider declines to reveal their identity.

Expanding on this, Mr Azzopardi said there had been a number of cases where employees had been assaulted by suspected energy thieves.

“We will not tolerate such cowardly acts and will do whatever it takes to protect and support our employees against this hostility,” he said.

Besides having feet on the ground, Enemalta had also gone digital.

The spokesman said new analytics software had been installed at the Delimara power station to monitor consumption patterns and single out spikes or dips.

This, he added, was working in tandem with a number of other technologies recently installed at different stages of the supply chain, some of which automatically cut off supply as soon as users tampered with their electricity.

“We will continue pursuing different courses of action to restrain irregularities. We will also collaborate with the police and provide them with the necessary resources to proceed with any further action necessary,” Mr Azzopardi said.

ivan.martin@timesofmalta.com