• Revised billing system set to come into force on October 10th, applied retroactively from 1st January 2022
As of Monday 10th October, Maltese households will start receiving adjusted utility bills, as the Government amends the 2009 billing regulations to resolve inconsistencies in the applicable computations.
This also represents the implementation of a 2022 Budget measure as outlined in the electoral manifesto of the Labour Government.
Minister for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise Miriam Dalli announced the revised billing system today, giving details of how the revisions will address an anomaly arising from the 2009 regulations. The solution follows months of technical testing and after resolving inconsistencies arising from the legal text of the original regulation drafted by the 2008-2013 administration.
“This Government pledged to resolve the anomalies in the regulations drafted by a previous administration in 2009. Today, we are delivering on this promise,” said Minister Dalli. “We did not opt for an annualised system that reconciles bills once a year, as this would have meant that 21% of our customers would lose their eco-reduction benefits. Instead, we planned a solution that gives customers an adjustment every two months, so that they can better assess and plan their energy consumption throughout the year”, said Minister Dalli.
“We are once again confirming this Government’s commitment to constantly keep Malta’s families and businesses at the heart of its energy policy. In 2013, this Government reduced tariffs by 25%, injecting the economic stimulus required to steer our country towards a decade of unprecedented economic growth. Despite the international challenges which are forcing other countries to unimaginable energy price hikes, we are continuing to provide the required support to keep these hardships away from our families”, Minister Dalli said.
The legal amendments seek to resolve the 2009 anomaly which gave rise to possible situations where customers did not benefit from all the water and electricity units of each tariff band allocation.
The 2009 regulations were originally introduced in tandem with the smart metering system, when customers started receiving bills every two months, as opposed to six months. This bi-monthly billing system, launched on 1st January 2010, was giving rise to the possibility that customers may not utilise all the units of the tariff bands allocated to them. Water and electricity consumption rates for residential buildings in Malta are structured in several tariff bands, with lower rates for the first units consumed and higher ones for heavier consumption, to discourage excessive energy use.
As a result of the newly-announced revisions, ARMS Ltd is launching a revised billing system that will continue issuing bills every two months, while constantly giving customers adjustments for the previous months’ unused units. The utility bills will retain the current format, but will now include two new lines, one showing the “adjustment” of electricity consumption in Euros, and another one showing the “adjustment” of water consumption, also in Euros.
Consumers who have constant monthly consumption within the parameters of the band entitlements, or who regularly exceed them, are likely to get minimal or zero adjustments.
Silvio Scerri, ARMS Ltd CEO, said that the revised system will apply retroactively to water and electricity consumption from 1st January 2022. The computation of eco-reduction will continue to be calculated on a bi-monthly basis, and not cumulatively, to ensure that households do not lose this reduction, Scerri explained.
ARMS Ltd is also upgrading its online bill calculator to give customers more details on their bill’s computation. For more information, visit www.arms.com.mt.
Source: Office of the Prime Minister