Malta’s energy tariffs a stumbling block to economic growth – Malta Chamber of Commerce

Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry calls on government to implement lower energy tariffs for businesses beyond its proposed 25% target

Energy tariffs: A stumbling block to Malta’s economic growth and a preclusion for businesses to compete internationally, the Malta Chamber of Commerce argues.
Energy tariffs: A stumbling block to Malta’s economic growth and a preclusion for businesses to compete internationally, the Malta Chamber of Commerce argues.

Dubbing energy tariffs as a stumbling block to Malta’s economic growth, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry has called on the government to implement lower energy tariffs beyond its proposed 25% target.

Part of the its electoral manifesto, the pledge to reduce energy tariffs for businesses by 25% is originally envisaged to be implemented by March 2015, but the Malta Chamber of Commerce has insisted that the target should be revised as rising energy costs are “precluding” businesses from competing on a European front.  

“With the competitiveness of the private sector in mind, we are concerned that energy – in a small, resource-constrained country such as Malta – is becoming a limiting barrier for economic growth,” Malta Chamber of Commerce president David G. Curmi said.

Curmi explained that the Chamber’s position paper showed that the official rate for industrial users stood at €0.18c per unit, whilst the average rate for the 22 highest energy consuming companies surveyed by the Chamber was €0.16c per unit.

“The proposed reductions are not enough to, at least, equal the 9c per unit average rate in the European Union, which, whilst low when compared to Malta’s standards, were uncompetitive when compared to an average of 4c per unit available in the United States,” Curmi argued.

Addressing the annual general meeting of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Curmi said Malta required “bold decisions to remain competitive and to ensure an even playing field for all economic operators.”

“The Malta Chamber of Commerce will not support quick-fix solutions that are not in the interest of the economy,” Curmi argued.

The Chamber president also said that the country’s inherent limitations are precluding it from benefitting from economies of scale in the generation and distribution of electricity.

In addition, Curmi also proposed that businesses located close to each other should be allowed to undertake bulk buying and joint purchasing of energy.

Listing the milestones that the Chamber achieved during 2013 – among which include the Individual Investor Programme, the justice reform white papers, the waste management strategy and the bank lending rates – Curmi said lower bank lending rates would not be agreed upon if they pose a threat to the stability of the local banking sector.