[WAYCH] Water and electricity bills should be halved immediately, PN insists

Utility bills for households should be halved and meter rental charges for retail outlets that have been forced to shut should be reduced, the Nationalist Party said.

Energy spokesperson Ryan Callus said the government should step in and cut water and electricity bills at a time when people are experiencing a loss of income.

Callus said people were being “robbed” €91 million annually as a result of the country’s energy set up negotiated by the government that relied on an 18-year contract to buy electricity from Electrogas.

He said the price of gas had dropped but the Maltese were still paying the same tariffs.

Asked whether the PN was suggesting the government pull out of its contractual obligations in the energy sector rather than introduce a voucher system to allay the current burden, Callus said it was government that had to find a way of getting out of the "mess" it created with the "corrupt Electrogas deal".

“Anything that needs to be done for the national interest to prevail must be done but people need immediate relief in their utility bills,” he insisted.

He insisted the government energy policy should prioritise renewable energy, followed by the purchase of electricity from the interconnector, the BWSC plant and the Electrogas power station respectively, to ensure the lowest prices on the market.

PN MP Claudette Buttiġieġ also urged the government to increase the eco-contribution threshold because people will be surpassing this as a result of the health advice they are being given to stay at home.

PN MP Hermann Schiavone said the meter charges for outlets that are closed but still have to leave freezers and fridges on, such as bars and restaurants, should be reduced.

The PN also called for the price of petrol and diesel to be reduced, given the international crash in the price of oil.