An urgent meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development will be held on Wednesday amid calls by the social partners to discuss the hike in energy tariffs.
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech will attend the meeting, the first of the MCESD for 2010, and Malta Resources Authority representatives will give a presentation on the methodology used to approve the new rates.
Social partners spokesmen said yesterday they hoped the meeting would lead to concrete decisions rather than consist of just an open-ended inconclusive discussion.
"MCESD is not a lecture room but a body that discusses important issues. Wednesday's meeting is the right time for all of us to discuss details and come up with alternative solutions," one spokesman said.
The new rates, announced in December, have come under heavy fire. The Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU described the rates for business as the most expensive in Europe and was highly critical of the fact that the rise was not discussed with the social partners.
The general secretary of the General Workers' Union, Tony Zarb said his union was holding internal discussions to take a stand ahead of the meeting.
His counterpart at the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin, Gejtu Vella said he expected the meeting to provide an opportunity for the government to better understand the concerns of all the social partners.
The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, Helga Ellul has insisted it is never too late for the government to reconsider the hefty water and electricity rates, which came into force on New Year's Day.
She warned that Malta's business attractiveness had been hit and any singular expansion plans by firms doing better than others could now be at risk.
The Sunday Times reported this week that representatives from the microchip giant ST Microelectronic had met the Finance Minister in December and warned that the company's future in Malta could be jeopardised as a result of the new energy rates.
Large companies like ST Microelectronics could see their bills go up by more than 50 per cent and small enterprises could expect rises of between €80 and €1,400.
The average increases for households, on the other hand, range from €14 for two-person households to €30 for families of four but can rise by as much as €175 for some.
The one-time energy rebate families will be receiving would greatly lessen the impact of the new tariffs, the government said. It will pay €55 per household and an extra €25 for each member of the family. The measure will cost the country €10 million.