Hoteliers demand reliable and cheaper energy

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) said government should not resolve last week’s energy blackout by giving a token payment but by guaranteeing a reliable and cheaper energy supply.

In reference to government’s announcement that it will be issuing nominal tokens to households who experienced a blackout for over 12 hours last week, the association said “the right for compensation is a legal matter and MHRA has reservations on government’s decision to issue tokens to selected households.”

Earlier this week MHRA met energy minister Konrad Mizzi with to “establish the facts and a way forward.”

Incoming MHRA president Matthew Pace stated that, “it is unacceptable that we have a nation-wide blackout. MHRA has been on the forefront for the past years to spearhead a campaign that has called for a radical reform of the way our energy sector operates and what happened last week proves our point.”

MHRA also complained that the communication process by government was mismanaged, “leading to unnecessary rumours and conflicting messages as the idea to distribute tokens was being interpreted as compensation.”

The association pointed out that “entrepreneurs, hoteliers and restaurateurs are not interested in nominal tokens but rather in having a reliable and consistent energy system that delivers efficiently, at the right cost and with the right conditions.”

Pace said “we cannot miss the wood for the trees. In our talks with Minister Mizzi reassurance was given to our members that Government will maintain its promise to reduce energy tariffs by 25% across the board by March 2015. Furthermore we called on Government to improve conditions of payments, reflecting seasonality and to consider issuing a scheme addressing late payment interest on past dues.”

The two parties also discussed the possibility that Enemalta adopts a Quality Service Charter.

MHRA thanked Mizzi for his prompt support, noting that other meetings are planned to take place in the coming days to establish specific energy management actions which encourage the sustainable growth of the tourism sector.