Unless a good strong lobby is waged on the European Parliament to cap utility rates, we will continue to see cartels of utility companies pretending to compete when in fact they protect each other. This came out clearly last week in a report in the United Kingdom. In times of hardship and dreadful economic crisis, these companies made a 38 per cent profit increase on the year before. This was severely criticised by the authorities and an action plan has been put in motion to reduce the bills and return some of the unfair charges to their customers. In Malta the song is even worse. Here we have one utility company with the Malta Resources Authority acting as an accomplice. Water charges are getting ridiculously high, from a mere 22c for a cubic metre to a whopping €5.50 or close for water cosumption that exceeds the 33 cubic metres per person per year as allowed at a lower rate.

The European Parliament should find common ground to cap the number of electricity units per person on a low rate and raise the ceiling for low-rate water consumption at 50 cubic metres per year. This would be irrespective of the fluctuations in the price of oil and should be treated as a fundamental right for basic power and water.

These past few years we have seen our Administration failing in many sectors and as a measure to make up the figures it is turning on the most basic necessities in the human way of life. Next we will be told to go live in a cave with a candle and drink rainwater.