I refer to the letter by Adrian Sciberras (March 4) in which he makes a number of proposals on "how to resolve the utilities bills saga in our country". While thanking Mr Sciberras for his suggestions, Enemalta would like to make some comments about these suggestions.

One proposal refers to regular billing and more efficient debt collecting. Part of the smart meter project and the setting up of ARMS is aimed at issuing bills more frequently, every two months in fact. Until the smart meters are rolled out, it wouldn't be economically viable to issue actual bills more frequently as this would require more manpower.

With regard to smart meters, this project will take approximately 24 months to complete. So far the smart meter project is still being piloted on a small scale; once all the analysis and testing is carried out, the project will move to a national rollout. This will inevitably result in the eradication of electricity theft and in the possibility of customers managing their electricity usage better.

The letter also refers to job restructuring, something Enemalta Corporation has undertaken to do over the past few years. Also, contrary to what the letter is implying, Enemalta follows a clear and transparent process when vacancies are created and these are either filled in internally or via external calls and advertised on newspapers. The corporation is currently going through a restructuring exercise by applying international methods of job evaluation and, once concluded, it will result in higher labour efficiency.

The letter highlights the importance of acting. Enemalta has "acted" on a number of fronts, from the investment in major projects like the extension of the Delimara power station to the smart meter project, to the SCADA system, a system that will allow the corporation to control sub-stations through continuous monitoring of traditionally unmanned distribution centres, to an interconnector that will enable us to purchase electricity from the European energy grid.

Finally, Enemalta is currently working on the launch of a new, more customer-oriented website, which will not only deliver up-to-date information but also serve as a bridge between the customer and the corporation to communicate in a better way.