A report tabled in the Public Accounts Committee by the Audit General this evening has confirmed the government has stuck to its electoral pledge to reduce electricity bills by an average of 25% for households and businesses.

The rate cuts, the government said, has increased households and businesses' disposable income by  €80 million a year.

The report, the government said in a statement, shows that bills under the previous government had not reflected the international price of oil, so much so that in the period between March 2008 and March 2013, the international price of oil had increased by 4%, but electricity bills had increased by 71% - 17 times over and above the international fluctuation.
 The switch to gas-fired electricity generation is currently being implemented, which, the government observed, would make good on its promise of cleaner air.
The government also noted that it had inherited an Enemalta Corporation that was €840 in debt but that the company was being brought back on track, while consumer rates are being brought down to amongst the lowest in Europe.  Today, the government said, Maltese consumers have the third-lowest electricity tariffs in the European Union - despite the fact that since 2009 the euro has lost nearly 20% of its strength compared to the US dollar.