Konrad Mizzi.

Nearly 700 files relating to cases of €2 million worth of confirmed electricity theft, which were never chased up for the money or prosecuted, have been discovered in a back room at Enemalta.

Expressing outrage, Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi said the files, going back to between 2006 and 2011, were found in four boxes in the State corporation’s billing department after the minister was approached by a whistleblower.

“This is obscene and verging on the criminal,” he said, pointing an accusing finger at the former Nationalist minister Tonio Fenech.

“This is a flagrant case where the previous administration literally turned a blind eye to electricity theft. What hypocrisy of [Nationalist Party leader] Simon Busuttil to accuse this government of handing out amnesties.

“Here we have investigated and confirmed cases of theft which were never followed up,” Dr Mizzi said at a hastily called press conference at the Marsa power plant yesterday evening.

The files had been opened when Enemalta suspected that the meters – mainly the old ones and not smart meters – had been tampered with and electricity was being stolen.

The police were brought in and the meters were changed, but no action was ever taken and the amounts owed never recovered, Dr Mizzi said.

In a first reaction from the PN, Nationalist Party deputy leader Mario de Marco denied knowledge of the files or the reason why no action had been taken. Speaking in Parliament, he reiterated that the party condemned any theft and urged Enemalta to collect the money owed.

‘Obscene and verging on criminal’

The session in Parliament turned out to be a heated one, with Mr Fenech and another former minister, George Pullicino, raising a breach of privilege complaint over Dr Mizzi’s suggestion that the PN administration had been directly responsible for concealing the files.

Earlier, Dr Mizzi said it was shameful that the files had been left to gather dust when Enemalta was facing serious cashflow problems and €840 million in debts.

He blamed Mr Fenech for the fiasco, adding that he should “disappear from the political scene”.

“No wonder the PN has hidden Mr Fenech from the public eye and has not let him appear on any television programmes over the three weeks since the energy theft scandal was brought to light,” he said.

Dr Mizzi said around 10 per cent of the 655 files found were commercial while the rest were residential meters.

Sources said the list included large hotels and established firms which owed thousands.

He said the shocking part of this “mess” was not that the theft had occurred but that the files were left to gather dust in boxes and not one cent had been recovered.

This is a flagrant case of turning a blind eye

Expressing his disbelief at the discovery, Dr Mizzi said he had never imagined he would find Enemalta in such a state.

The corporation had now launched a full-scale internal investigation.

He also questioned why these particular files had been locked away when other files of proven theft had been dealt with.

Asked how the government would be dealing with these consumers, Dr Mizzi said they would be approached and offered the possibility of regularising their position. The legal notice giving Enemalta the power to reach out-of-court settlements over energy theft would be “put to full use”.

With regard to the recently uncovered smart meter racket involving an estimated 1,000 meters, Dr Mizzi once again urged the people involved to own up and approach Enemalta.

They had six weeks to do it, after which there would be “serious consequences”.

Dr Mizzi said that Shanghai Electric, the Chinese firm willing to invest in Enemalta, knew of the racket and was following it closely.

In a statement later, the PN said the 665 cases had been referred to the police, in contrast with the blanket amnesty the government was giving to people caught bribing public officers to rig their meter so they could save 80 per cent of their electricity bills.