PN requests MCCAA, REWS investigation into billing irregularities at ARMS

The Nationalist Party has formally called for separate investigations by the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA) and the Regulator for Energy and Water Services (REWS) into the billing irregularities at ARMS.

The request was filed by Shadow Minister for Energy and Water Conservation Mark Anthony Sammut and Shadow Minister for Inclusion and Consumer Rights Graziella Galea who this morning formally presented two separate letters to the two entities, requesting that they urgently investigate the ARMS billing case.

“As it had pledged to do in recent days after raising the issue of the ARMS billing debacle, the PN is calling for an investigation into how thousands of Maltese and Gozitan families ended up paying higher bills than they should have because they were not granted the Eco-reduction to which they were entitled. This occurred despite the fact that ARMS had been aware of an error in its system for at least a year,” the party said in a statement.

“In its request to the MCCAA, the PN focused on consumer rights, the lack of transparency, and the fact that refunds were only issued to those who complained, while thousands of others continued to overpay without ever being informed,” a party statement read.

In its request to the regulator, the PN called for a technical and regulatory investigation into the billing method, the governance of ARMS, and whether the excess funds collected are being unjustly retained. The PN is also calling for automatic and backdated refunds, as well as for penalties to be considered where applicable.

“The PN expects both authorities to act independently of the government, the minister and ARMS, in order to immediately protect consumers and restore the trust that has been lost in the country’s energy system,” it said.

Energy Minister Miriam Dalli has asked for an independent audit of ARMS’s accounting system despite the company saying earlier billing problems were resolved.

In a statement, the ministry said ARMS had reconfirmed that its system is now functioning correctly and that the issue, which the company had previously acknowledged, had been resolved.