Utility bills need to drop by more than the promised 25 per cent because energy costs are impeding economic growth, according to the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry.

“With the competitiveness of the private sector in mind, we are concerned that energy - in a small, resource-constrained country like ours – is becoming a limiting barrier for economic growth,” chamber president David Curmi said during a meeting with Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi.

Mr Curmi was speaking in view of the country’s inherent limitations that stopped it benefiting from scale economies in generating and distributing electricity, the chamber said in a statement.

Energy rates’ effect on cost-competitiveness ran across the chamber’s entire membership.

“An extensively researched position paper was prepared on the need to lower the cost of energy for industry beyond the 25 per cent target and before March 2015.

“The chamber’s position paper showed that the official rate for industrial users currently stood at €0.18 per unit while the average rate for the 22 highest energy consuming companies surveyed by the chamber was €0.16 per unit.”

The proposed reductions were not enough to equal the €0.09 per unit average rate in the EU28 which was still uncompetitive compared with a US average rate of €0.04 per unit.

The chamber proposed that businesses close to each other should be allowed bulk buying and joint purchasing of energy. This would safeguard jobs and the future of numerous small- and medium-sized firms.

Mr Curmi insisted it was important to maintain flexibility within the overall energy mix to allow as much sourcing of energy through the interconnector as necessary.