Joe Mizzi, David Agius spar on electricity billing system

Actual utility bills being sent every two months are short-changing customers and go against the legal notice outlining how units should be calculated, MP David Agius said.

The Nationalist Party deputy leader took up the billing controversy in Parliament this evening when speaking on the budget estimates for the Water Services Corporation.

Agius explained that the law allocated units to the different tariff bands on an annual basis, irrespective of how the bills were worked out.

With actual bills being released every two months, what is supposed to be an annual allocation is being split into two-monthly instalments that do not compensate for one another.

This means that consumers can be overcharged for their consumption as a result of the billing system adopted unless an annual, or six-monthly reconciliation is made.

Energy Minister rues Opposition's hypocrisy

But Energy Minister Joe Mizzi was taking none of the criticism, accusing the Opposition of hypocrisy over the matter.

In a charged tone, Mizzi insisted the government was looking into the matter and was ready to take the necessary action if required, but it had to ensure justice was served.

He shunned the Opposition’s criticism over the time it was taking to analyse the billing system. Mizzi insisted the only changes to the billing system happened in 2010, when tariffs were increased by 30% and in 2014-2015 when tariffs were reduced by 25% for families and businesses.

Agius called on the government to rectify the situation and compensate clients accordingly. 

The Nationalist Party has taken up the issue first flagged by economist Marie Briguglio. It has asked people to take their bills to the party to analyse them and asked the regulatory authorities to investigate the matter.

Although the billing system has been in place for years, the matter has come to the fore recently because more customers are receiving actual bills every two months. Before, customers received two estimate bills and an actual one every six months.

Actual billing every six months helps smoothen varying consumption patterns, ensuring that clients benefit from the advantageous tariff bands, as intended by the legal notice.

READ ALSO: How energy consumption near tariff band is costing households more

The Prime Minister has promised to look into the matter and make the necessary changes.

But the PN’s efforts were poopooed in Parliament on Monday evening by Labour MP Edward Zammit Lewis.

He said there was an ongoing court case on the matter and urged the Opposition to respect the rule of law and wait for the court to pass judgment.

In a ridiculing tone, Zammit Lewis said the billing system had been introduced by the last PN administration and was not changed by the current administration.

Another Labour MP, Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, said Agius lacked credibility on the issue, having been part of the PN administration that had raised electricity tariffs with no clue how to bring them down.

“You lack credibility… you had voted with all your heart against lowering electricity tariffs in the previous administration, how do you expect to be credible now,” Zrinzo Azzopardi countered.