The Malta Resources Authority (MRA) is to order the utility providers to revise the water and electricity bills retroactively to October 1, trade unions announced this evening.

The claim was immediately denied by the MRA, which said that any revisions of the tariffs would not be retroactive.

The announcement of the revisions was made at a press conference by representatives of 11 trade unions following a meeting with senior MRA oficials this afternoon. The development was hailed as 'a major victory' by GWU General Secretary Tony Zarb.

John Bencini. President of the Malta Union of Teachers, said this was a saga which showed the amateurish way how the water and electricity tariffs were drawn up.

He said the unions were telling consumers who received utility bills not to pay them until they received new ones with the revised figures.

He said it had been confirmed, as the unions had long suspected, that far fewer domestic customers would be eligible for the eco-refund than the Prime Minister originally claimed. Indeed, the MRA was now estimating that 53% of domestic accounts would be eligible for the deduction, and that included summer residences, Mr Bencini said.

Meanwhile, the MRA denied the comments made by the unions that revisions would be backdated.

"The MRA categorically denies that it has requested, or will request, any backdated revision of the water and electricity tariffs. The MRA also denies having made any comments in this sense to the unions who today attended a two-hour meeting with it during which the audit process was explained," the authority said.

The MRA said that in the next scheduled revision of the tariffs, it would consider any changes made in the Enemalta cost base, including the oil price, and some fine-tuning which may be proposed and accepted.

The unions when contacted, said they stood by their position.