Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1382687
Ryan Callus is a PN MP and Opposition spokesperson for Energy and Water Management Ryan Callus 12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 JUNE 2021 OPINION THE past recent days have been characterised by headlines from the energy sector. Firstly, the 'anomalous' mech- anism applied by ARMS for the billing of utilities, and more recently, the second intercon- nector. Both issues have been brought up to the national debate following the numerous propos- als presented by the Nationalist Party. Overcharging utility bills One cannot merely continue to call the utility billing mechanism an "anomaly", four years down the line since it was initially de- scribed as such by former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Admitting to an anomaly is one thing, but an anomaly becomes theft if it is allowed to persist, in particular for a futher four years. The National Auditor's report on the matter therefore comes as no surprise today, given that the Nationalist Party has been stating the obvious since 2017. Labour's response went from rejection, to an admission by Muscat, then back to rejection by Minister Miriam Dalli and Prime Minister Robert Abela, then to "if there is an anomaly, we're open to fixing things". Labour then tried to shift the blame on the former Nationalist administration. Truth be told, the issue resulted when Labour starting issuing six-yearly bills on a two-monthly duration on an actual basis, as opposed to the previous system which provided only two actual bills and four es- timate bills. Pre-2013, the system would have allowed for adjustments to overcharging, which is now no longer the case. In a nutshell, families are being billed for units at a more expensive band prior to consuming all cheaper bands. To make matters worse, families are also being deprived of the eco-contribution, a mechanism introduced by the then PN ad- ministration, providing a reduc- tion in utility bills meant to en- courage diligent consumers that do not spend more than 1,750 units per year. This anomaly-now-theft has likewise deprived our families of their cheapest units and their eco-contribution. Our proposal is to provide the necessary flex- ibility such that consumers ben- efit from all the cheapest units. Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has however went one step further, promising a refund amounting to approximately €50 million in overcharges. Labour has since tried to create an issue as a deviation tactic with regards to commercial bills. We are aware of businesses, in the bracket of the lower usage commercial consumers who's daily usage is circa 85 units per day and 60,000 units per year. Minister Dalli decided to ignore this sector, referring only to the bigger commercial consumer (above 60,000 units a year). The smaller commercial consumer, such as the retail shop, the iron- monger, the services provider and the typical professional office consisting of a few workers, are at risk of being overcharged. It is evident that Labour has not understood this, and has in fact failed to provide examples of lower consuming commercial consumers. To this effect, the commercial consumer will also be addressed in our proposal, but not by the one-size-fits-all being suggested by the Labour govern- ment. We will not raise anyone's bill, as Labour is implying, but give back €50 million stolen from the consumer and stop this injustice by addressing the billing mecha- nism. A Nationalist government will also address the anomaly for low commercial consumers as a means to sustain their competi- tiveness. Second interconnector vs Second Electrogas This week was characterised by the so called "Cabinet approval" for the second interconnector. Truth be told, a better descrip- tion for this approval would have been "Cabinet rubber-stamped". We have now become accus- tomed to Labour making its own others' proposals without ac- knowledging others were credit is due. Indeed, the second intercon- nector had been already planned way back in 2006 by a former PN administration, as laid down in the 2006-2015 Enemalta Gener- ation Plan. The PN's commitment towards the second interconnector was renewed again in January 2020 and more recently in February 2021 when we launched the PN Future Energy Plan 2021-2030- 2050. However, of more importance to our families is whether we have maximised the usage of the first interconnector – simply because the interconnector has provided us with the cheapest electricity rates, much cheaper than Elec- trogas most of the time. Therefore, whilst is it good news that we're going for the sec- ond interconnector, the bas news is that since the switching on of Electrogas, interconnector usage went from 87% in 2016 to 22% in 2020. There's only one reason to this under-usage – Labour has com- mitted Enemalta to purchase circe 80% of the energy generated by Electrogas, come what may. This take-or-pay condition for 18 years is detrimental to the future sustainability of our utilities, to our families, our economy and jobs. All in all, Labour had an option to either go for an extension of another Electrogas turbine, or a second interconnector. There's one logical reason be- hind the choice – the intercon- nector provides the cheapest prices. It seems after all, that the PN's energy policy is the most sustainable option in the long- term. Towards implementing the PN's energy plan PN leader Bernard Grech discussing utility bills with people who turned up at party headquarters to register their complaints on overcharging by ARMS