Higher utility bills issue: Energy Minister says he has requested more information, will act accordingly

Energy Minister Joe Mizzi has stressed that he has gathered all complaints received regarding overcharging for electrical consumption due to bills being issued on a two-monthly basis, and has forwarded it to the relevant entities in order to obtain more information, after which he will evaluate the situation and decide what to do.

Responding to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MPs Simon Busuttil and David Agius regarding what the government was doing to address the situation brought about by utility bills being calculated once every two months, instead of on a yearly or half-yearly basis - leading to people missing out on benefitting from tariff brackets from one period to another - Mizzi stressed that nothing had been changed in the system compared to how it was in Nationalist administration days.

The questions come amid growing concerns that the billing method being used is leading to people paying higher bills.

The issue had been flagged by economist Marie Briguglio on her Facebook page, where she gave a detailed explanation of how the two-monthly billing system being used by ARMS could lead to consumers paying more than necessary if their consumption fluctuates significantly between billing periods.

One of the several posts in which Briguglio explained her reasoning on how people were being overcharged for their electrical consumption:

“Some have complained that the eco-reduction system is not being fair with customers. There is an ongoing court case about this, and I cannot say anything to prejudice it. However, I am waiting for information from all those concerned, and I will act accordingly,” Mizzi said, “What I know for sure is that bills are now 25% cheaper than before.”

“If there is something to improve, we will do so,” he emphasised.