It is the responsibility of the Malta Resources Authority to review, assess and verify all the proposals made about the electricity tariffs to ensure that the new tariff structure will reflect the international cost of fuel and correct the discriminatory elements in the October tariffs, the GRTU said.

The Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises, GRTU said in a statement it was one of only two social partners who had submitted proposals in writing following MRA’s request for submissions. Submissions were also made by Enemalta.

The GRTU said that in its submission, it had clearly quantified the impact of the discrimination in the current tariff regime on SMEs.

It was MRA’s responsibility to establish a new regime and the chamber expected it to faithfully its responsibility at law.

The GRTU expected the new regime to eliminate all discrimination, correct excessive rental charges and assess the impact on international fuel prices prior to approving the new tariff structure.

It expected the MRA to approve tariffs that truly reflected the current economic situation faced by most enterprises in Malta. Maltese enterprises were trying to shield their enterprise and their employees from the dangers of economic recession and the MRA had the responsibility to ensure the economic impact of the tariffs approved had been correctly estimated.

The chamber said it was now time for serious decisions. These had to be taken by the people who had the responsibility to act.

Chamber director general Vince Farrugia said it was no secret that his trust in the MRA had been dented. “Perhaps this could be a good opportunity for the authority to redeem itself.”