Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi defended himself at length against suggestions by Opposition deputy leader Mario de Marco that he misled Parliament on the extent of the ministerial direction he gave for a fuel hedging agreement to be reached with Azeri company Socar.

During question time, Dr de Marco pointed out that both on January 27 and on February 2, Dr Mizzi had given replies to PQs in the sense that the hedging agreement had been decided by Enemed’s risk management committee.

The Auditor General had written in a more recent report that the decision was taken following ministerial direction.

Dr Mizzi said his statements and the AG’s report were consistent and not conflicting.

He said he had acted in favour of the consumer. It was the committee that had been involved through the second stage of setting the price targets, and beyond

His ministerial direction had stopped at pushing Enemed to explore the market further for better hedging prices after pricing targets remained elusive, taking Socar as a potential option. He had done this in order to avoid the looming necessity of having to increase petrol and diesel prices by 2c a litre. The minister said he had also kept in mind both sides’ ongoing cooperation in the broader energy sector, but he had left it to Enemed to proceed.

The AG’s comment that documentation was not complete throughout the whole process had been noted and it would not happen again. But, contrary to what used to be done under the previous administration, his direction had been minuted for accountability.

Dr Mizzi said he had acted in favour of the consumer. It was the committee, not he, who had been involved throughout the second stage of setting the price targets, and beyond.

Asked by Labour MP Anthony Agius Decelis to explain what a hedging agreement was, he said there were two types: one was on fuel prices and the other was on foreign exchange.

The power station used hedging to fix prices and budget for its needs, but fuel prices were covered by different agreements with a view to achieving stability.

To a question by Claudio Grech (PN) on what technical reasons there were for the fuel price component in Malta to remain one of the highest per litre in the EU, Dr Mizzi said Malta bought petrol and diesel CIF at a premium, but could not buy large quantities at once because storage was limited, with Birżebbuġa only taking up to 7,000 metric tonnes.