The public must know who is responsible for the current gas shortage, that is, Enemalta and the government. The distributors had nothing to do with the decisions which led to this situation and therefore, should not be held responsible.

In a statement released yesterday, the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU) explained that the problem with gas distribution arose from decisions taken by the government and the corporation. The union said it could not understand how Investments and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt chose to include the distributors into the equation.

The 31 distributors in Malta and the two in Gozo are GRTU members – neither were involved in the decisions taken which led to the current situation. The union said not enough gas was purchased to satisfy the demand. Thousands of cylinders were taken off the market without ensuring that these were replaced before the cold weather hit Malta, the GRTU said.

The statement further claimed the plant did not make use of all the available hours to fill the empty cylinders collected by the distributors. The government and Enemalta also failed to account for the impact the raise in price of kerosene had on the gas demand, considering the public was not provided with a reasonably priced alternative fuel source.

There is no monopoly in the gas distribution system and door-to-door distribution is convenient both for families and commercial consumers, claimed the GRTU. Many people will suffer if this system is removed since many do not have means of transport and are not physically able of carrying gas cylinders.

If the distributors are guaranteed a supply of gas, the public can be given an efficient service. The distributors depended solely on Enemalta and it would be a grave mistake for the government to ruin what is good in the system instead of trying to isolate what went wrong, claimed the GRTU.

The union declared it is available for any discussions which would lead to an efficient system. The GRTU, after all, represents a large number of businesses which use gas – it is, therefore, in its interest to guarantee an efficient and fair distribution system.