Consumers complain that late utility bills lead to exorbitant prices

Delayed utility bills were costing consumers between €800 and €1,000, Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi heard consumers complain.

A number of interventions on One Radio during an interview with the minister this morning focused on the shortcomings at ARMS Ltd, with many complaining that bills were either being issued very late or not issued at all.

During his first weeks upon taking office, Konrad Mizzi was faced with 60,000 pending bills which had not been issued for over a year and a half. He also found that €160 million bills were still unpaid, with around €11 million of which had been pending for more than five years.

The minister reassured the government had already embarked on the process to bring ARMS Ltd in line, and a new management team was set up. Expressing his frustration at the disastrous situation he found, Mizzi pledged the service will be improved and an efficient billing system will be in place by March.

"The billing company is weak and so is its customer care system," he said, adding the option of opening branches in localities was being considered.

He said that, to add to Enemalta's exorbitant debts, ARMS Ltd had for months failed to pay Enemalta. Enemalta has now already recuperated €5 million. By the end of 2013, ARMS Ltd must collect €40 million with the minister ensuring this was doable.

In the coming weeks, the energy ministry will announce a number of schemes to aid businesses that have fallen behind with utility payments

Another major problem was the rollout of smart meters which fell behind. It is expected that a total of 130,000 smart meters would have been installed by the end of year.

During the hour-long interview, the energy minister also spoke on his decision to ask the Police Commissioner to investigate post-2008 Enemalta procurement. According to Mizzi, the Enemalta oil scandal led Malta to be perceived as a corrupt country and the government had to embark on an intensive international advertising campaign to lure back oil companies.

Mizzi also lambasted Opposition leader Simon Busuttil for his silence over the damning fuel procurement report.

"It goes to show he is not prime ministerial material," the energy minister said.

Speaking at length over Labour's energy plan, the minister said credit rating agency Moody's welcomed the government's action to reduce utility bills.

"Moody's has found this new development encouraging as before they as the previous government had had no plans to reduce the tariffs," he said.

The minister also announced the Malta Resources Authority was in the process of implementing a labeling system informing consumers on the quality of fuel being bought. Being a liberalized market, petrol stations were either buying their fuel from Enemalta or from private companies. However, the consumer had no way of knowing from where the fuel derived.