Thursday, 5th November 2009 - 07:44CET
Updated: Minister explains why tariffs have to rise
Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt has confirmed in Parliament that Enemalta and the Water Services Corporation are to apply to the regulator to raise the utility tariffs.
He said the increase had become necessary because costs had risen and the tendency was for the international oil price to continue to rise.
The minister pointed out that Enemalta was expected to make a €21.4 million loss for the period April to December this year because the tariffs announced in March were lower than the eventual market prices.
The consumption of electricity had fallen by 8% since the last revision, the minister said, while non-technical losses remained unchanged at 6%. The changes between the projections made before the March tariffs and the actual results stemmed from the changes in the world economy, Dr Gatt said.
He explained that when the current tariff was established in March, the price of crude oil was $54.70 and it was now $76. During the same period, fuel oil had risen from $314 to $469.75, gas oil from $484 to $631.50 and the dollar had fluctuated from $1.35 to $1.47.
The tariff changes were therefore required to cover this year's losses and next year's oil price increases.
The minister said the price of crude oil was, according to the market, due to rise to $78.26 in the first quarter of next year, $79.91 in the second quarter, $81.21 in the third quarter and $82.34 by the end of next year.
Fuel oil would end next year at $519 and gas oil at $632.
The minister said Enemalta was keeping its administration costs in check, including salaries, overtime, unbilled units and depreciation, and progress was being made in some areas. However the oil price accounted for 62 per cent of Enemalta's total spending and therefore cost reductions elsewhere only had a limited effect.
He said the governemnt would continue to help those who had a low income - 28,000 account holders are currently being assisted.
RSS
Comments
Seems that at last a few people commenting without politicizing the W/E issue. I agree that there are many inefficiencies at Enemalta, which should be tackled directly ... but sending home the management or changing government is not possible ... no one will be removed from his/her post without giving a battle all out ... best way is to make more pressure on accountability.
I agree with you 100%. Instead of worrying how I'll ever manage to pay the bills, do you think there's a chance of consuming less if we just stop paying the bills? Will Enemalta suspend the supply? Will it close down and send the multi-million loss-making management home? I am prepared to live in the shimmering light of candles to stand up to this atrocity of monopolistic behaviour once and for all.
For such a hardliner, I don't know how this minister sleeps at night. Does he honestly believe he can fool all the people all the time?
Oil is traded in US dollar and the 7 per cent fall of the dollar since June 2009 SHOULD be taken in consideration I guess!!
Thanks, I'll have a look at the website.
Here in the UK we have plenty of electricity suppliers all trying to give the best deal, so lots of competition.
We only have a regional water supplier as there is no national grid / network like there is for electricity and gas.
Regards
MJP
You are 100% right in saying what you said, and I agree with you. But, please, tell me how this can be achieved? Politics aparts, removing one government and placing another will (in my opinion) not solve the problem. Corruption is a problem that goes beyond governments since it boils down to an individual decision. Obviously, the more a party remains in power, the more prone that party is for corruption.
So my friends, this leads us back to square one. Consume less and have less faith in any government. More floating voters may make a bigger difference.
Not if :
- Enemalta is efficiently run
- Goverment leads by example and curbs its expenses and sees to it that money is well spent
- there is an efficient tax system in place
If you wish to take it like that, and you're happy to be ripped off by Enemalta.. then you deserve to be paying more money on pretty much everything you buy.
The price fluctuations from Enemalta, have been incredibly inconsistent with any of the oil prices worldwide, and unless we get a full audit of Enemalta, and ALL THE GOVERNMENT SPENDING, like what happened in the UK a few months ago, we will continue to pay for politician's houses / cars / holidays instead of helping the country move out of this very dark hole we are currently stuck in.
The state of the country and ridiculous prices are the result of the sickening amount of corruption and "favuri" that the Maltese seem to love doing.
We will soon end up as bad as Italy if nothing is done about it.
Most of the comments written are laughable, since they are politically motivated on both sides. My friends neither PN nor PL can reduce prices of water/electricity. If they manage to do so, then we will be taxed somewhere else to make up. So, let everyone pay for his/her own consumption, and subsidise low usage by those who make high usage. That way the rich subsidise the poor. More than that is only political blubber.
Thought that the PN had learnt a lesson.
This will not only produce cheaper energy but also cleaner energy and Malta will be within the EU emissions standards. I ask myself, why is the government dragging it's feet and at the same time confirming another increase in the utilities bill, every one knows that unless something is done the issue will only grow bigger and more complex.
The PN should tap into this as an opportunity, if something is really done than there might be a slim chance for another term in government but the way I am seeing it, things are really not looking good. For utilities bills abroad, I can definitely confirm that our bills are higher than some EU member states, obviously not all. We have to remember that the bills have to be compared with the income and every one knows that Malta is one of the lowest income countries per capita in the EU member states.
To add insult to injury , the bills are again being raised to make up for ENEMALTA's '09 deficit , the 8% less consump[tion, and a predicted rise of crude oil . It's like buying something ,last year say for 10 euro and the seller demands a further payment of 2 euro , 1) to make up for a mistake on the price he had charged ..... 2) as his sales had decreased and 3) cash on in advance ,on next year"s (?) probable higher price ! Very wise indeed , but then DON'T FORGET we are getting for free all those energy saving bulbs!
"But on the other hand all arrogant PN supporters speak like you; rubbish all else and hail the emperor."
Perhaps you would like to cite any on my statements where not factual or misleading.
In respect to the Emperor, it is not me who is praising or hailing him, but studies published by the EU in which one of these reports cited Malta as one of FOUR countries that managed the recent world recession well. The other report stated that Malta's unemployment rate in light of the recent world recession was among the lowest in the EU. For your information the highest unemployment rates in the EU are found mostly in Socialist led Countries. To the contrary it is Countries who have Central/Right Governments are the ones that have come out of the recession. I would not expect you to know all this, cause Super One is not in the Lejbers interest for you to know. Lejber is known for keeping its' supporters blind as to what is really happening in the real world and in particular here in Malta.
Maybe you are well off and you don;t care about low income earners ; pensioners; the middle class;; self employed and other different classes of the Maltese society
When I see comments like yours I start laughing!! Do you want to bet that Malta's electricity bills are the cheapest in Europe? Do you live abroad in another country as I do to proof what you are saying??!! I can assure you (cause I have bills in my hands from both places) that with the present rates we are on the same levels of some other European Countries(Not ex Communist) where the average wages are better at least twice then that of the Maltese and that we had decreases in prices in all sectors not increases !!
I understand you might had been misguided by what the Onor. Gatt had said some months ago in an interview!!!
Enemalta had been doing loss on Electricity for the last years even when oil was cheaper but was being hidden by profits in the gas and petroleum section! The problem is that now this section will not form part of Enemalta anymore so the corporation can't balance its books. I don't agree with subsidies but if the truth was said and things had been arranged before the consumer wouldn't had to pay these high bills at a glance!!
i'm sure that given the circumstance joseph muscat would give us free electricity...that is exactly why he failed to guarantee reduction in electricity tariffs exactly AFTER an election (not before)...
dont put your hopes too high up...cos u will be let down.
This bad Public Relations is ongoing as everytime the bill is received, you cannot help thinking this and it will NOT GO AWAY.. And it will go on and on regularly and then perhaps if the bill is due some one or two months before the election, then the postmen/postwomen will be relieved of it until after the election!! We have been through this several time but I do not think it will work this time though.
You are NOt EVEN realising that many of the moaners you so arrogantly talk about, are ( or were) actually PN supporters. But on the other hand all arrogant PN supporters speak like you; rubbish all else and hail the emperor.
It's time for you and the Gloom and Doom crowd to face reality.
It's time for you and the Gloom and Doom crowd to widen your horizons.
It's time for you and the Gloom and Doom Crowd to start questioning Joseph Muscat before he takes you down the road of no return that Alfred Sant knows damn well.
It is time for you to ask Joseph Muscat why he was dumbfolded when ask if he would guarantee the price of Electricity and Water.
And yet Enemalta is building A HUGE Head Quarters in Xewkija Gozo. Can the dear Minister explain and give us, taxpayers the amount being spent on it, please?
I feel that the previous incentive re solar panels needs to be reintroduced.
I think not only Dr Austin Gatt have to resign but Gonzi PN and make way for a true government who feel for the people needs and not only to balance the vast debit he made during PN in government. Those PN MPs who are criticising the government are going to accept this or vote against it.
I think that Enemalta website has the rates published. Please note that here in Malta there is only one electricity supplier implying that you can't choose your supplier. We are in a situation that whether we like it or not , we have to pay the bills. You have no other option.
Could there be some misprint in this sentence? "Fuel oil would end next year at $519 and gas oil at $632." . If this statement were true , probably the value of one Euro would be ten Dollars by the end of the year.
Why didn't the tarrifs come down in line with the cost of crude oilwhen it dipped the $40 mark? Why didn't Enemalta or the Goverment hedge?
I have yet to see the day when the regulator opposes what the goverment proposes.
It is very obvious the the Goverment is not listening to the people as it had promised after the MEPs fiasco.
This is what happens when the govment of the day becomes detached from its people.
In its frenzy to impose its tacherite policies (more liberal than those of the Old Lady herself) the PN is abondoning its social dimension. More and more people will be pushed below the poverty line.
Of you are so convinced that the Minister is taking us for a ride why don't you pack up and go back to your country wher everything is much cheaper than Malta?
Thanks to all those who voted and trusted PN in the last Elections. they really gave us a helping hand to move on. I would like to invite them now to pay the electricity bills. I do as well, but at least my conscience is in peace. Dear Government, please keep on rolling on us, as we deserve it
So, in march the minister didn't envisage that oil was going up, but now he already knows that it will go up to about $82 by the end of next year.
Or is it that March was so much near the EP elections and didn't want the PN to lose by a bigger margin.
"The consumption of electricity had fallen by 8% since the last revision...." of course consumption went down, because people during summer weren't able to switch on the airconditioners because of the hefty bills..
"the minister said, while non-technical losses remained unchanged at 6%. ..."
so does this mean that Enemalta didn't do anything to tackle these losses. And still the people have to pay for these losses.
"The tariff changes were therefore required to cover this year's losses and next year's oil price increases.
What a laugh and the people stay quiet and do nothing about this.....
While I am ALL in favour of having wind turbines and reducing power production from the power stations, I do not hink we can acheive the same as Tasmania due to differnet meteorological and geographical conditions. They have much more wind than us.
Poor deluded and humble citizen! The government doesn't even care less what I, you and anyone like us have to say. What counts for the government is business!
The simple fact is: the rich getting even richer and the poor getting poorer. Well done Europe for bringing back the spectre of poverty!
When the price of Crude oil was at $140 per barrel, analyst where saying that it was going to hit the $200.00 per barrel soon. We all now what happened, Crude Oil subsequently started to go down to as much as $40 per barrel.
Hedging is a two sided knife and not an instrument to be used lightly as Joseph Muscat would make you want to belief
Although this is true it does not give the right for one to avoid investing in clean energy sources. Protecting the environment is very important.
If you want to gamble with your money all you need to do is find one of the many gambling outlets….until they’re there!
It's time for the LP to boycot parlament as a sign of solidarity with the public in general.
It's time for the Church to speak openly about the rise of poverty that is accuring in Malta.
It's time for the working class to unit and stop this govt from turning the clock back to the 60's
IT'S TIME TO GET MALTA WHERE IT BELONGS-- BEST IN THE EU. NOT WORST.
Someone said that the tarrifs are the highest in Europe..... Can he be serious???? The cost of electricity between Malta and the rest of Europe is the steep rise; not the cost of electricity. Malta's electricity bills are much lower than the rest of Europe's
Can you tell me the cost of electricity and water on Malta please?
We are planning to move from UK to Malta and the info would be useful.
Thank you
Mike
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolnorth_Wind_Farm,_Tasmania
Hope we can soon be like them
The question is Where does the difference in $$$ between actual value and the value submitted by the "saviour" buyer go? Swiss banks maybe ?!!**
Does it come out ONLY when the Minister calls?
The last time we heard of it, it was embroiled in 11 unions' saga, different utility tariffs have gone up more than once. Was the RSA dormant?
That last time the RSA TOOK MONTHS TO COME TO A CONCLUSION because there was a slight decrease in tariffs, but this time , I think, things will move faster.
PS If I am not mistaken, the regulator is there to protect the consumer by seeing that the price is justified. For transparency's sake can it make public its investigations in this regard. After all we are paying the regulator.
Are you trying to make us laugh or cry?? The price of oil hit $80 and is falling again - even so its still half the price as last year. Even OPEC thinks at $80 its too high. http://knopok.net/prices-chart/oil
I think the Government needs to restructure Enemalta and fire these high salary fat cats who are driving EneMalta and us back to the Stone Age.