Energy Minister Joe Mizzi would not pronounce himself on the controversial deal through which taxpayers are losing millions on the purchase of LNG for the power station.

Mr Mizzi was asked for his reaction at the end of a news conference on Friday, regarding a €10 million project by the Water Services Corporation to upgrade the distribution network in the Siġġiewi, Qrendi areas.

The controversy over the purchase of LNG by Enemalta from Electrogas erupted following revelations by the Daphne Project that State energy company Enemalta last year could have saved $40 million had it acquired the gas directly from Shell.

Enemalta instead bought its LNG consignments from the Electrogas consortium as part of a 10-year deal. Electrogas had bought the fuel through Azerbaijan state-owned company Socar, with the latter buying directly from Shell.

Asked if the government was willing to revise the terms of this 10-year deal with Electrogas, Mr Mizzi skirted the issue saying it was very important to have a good energy mix so as not to rely on one source alone for the country’s power generation.

When it was pointed out to him that the issue at stake was the hefty price which Enemalta was being charged by Electrogas for LNG, the minister did not commit himself.

Asked if he was satisfied with the deal or if government would consider revising the agreement, he said one had to look at the issue in a holistic manner

"I refer you to the replies given earlier to the Times of Malta,” he said.

The Energy Minister was also asked about complaints that utilities billing company ARMS was overcharging customers.

The minister said he said he referred the information received to various entities, which he did not name. He added that the ministry was already receiving feedback but did not divulge details.

Mr Mizzi noted that the current billing system had been in place since 2009, four-years before Labour was elected to government.