The Gas Distributors Committee of the GRTU called a press conference on the current situation relating to door to door distributors with a Public Service Obligation.
Committee representative Joe Attard said that currently with every kilo of gas, distributors are taking 13.3c, and insisted that the amount should be increased to 17.5c per kilo.
The conference was held in front of the Regulator for Energy and Water Services (REWS) Millennia Buildings Marsa. Alongside Attard were a number of gas distributors.
Attard said that the Committee has had numerous discussions and sent emails regarding the issues which door to door distributors have been facing. Yet he said that there have been no signs of an agreement or conclusion on the matter. He said that the distributors all have an entitlement for their mark up and that REWS take note of this and give commission accordingly to those distributors.
There are two authorised service providers and, according to the GRTU, REWS needs to revise this out-dated type of mechanism.
The distributors have a Public Service Obligation and have a right to be paid accordingly with their commissions. Attard said that they are in a position where there are no signs of a rise in the mark-up of the distributors by the end of the year, and that they are constantly wondering what the next step is; whether they will increase the mark-up for the distributors or increase the price of gas.
One of the main problems, Attard noted, is that there are numerous retail outlets that are keeping gas cylinders and selling them without the proper permission. He said that such illegal circumstances could lead to disastrous events. He said that apart from it being unfair that such retail outlets are buying gas cylinders which can be sold door to door distribution; such outlets are risking the safety of themselves and those in the area. He said that unfortunately the Government only takes note of such circumstances when a tragedy happens.
This illegal system of shops buying gas cylinders and then selling them, Attard said, is breaking a public service obligation between the Government and the gas distributors, an obligation to be held till 2020.
He stressed that the distributors will continue working throughout the Christmas season, and that they would not want to disappoint the Maltese population, especially those who support the work done by the Committee and the distributors. He said that the authority and the REWS must "pull up their socks" and take action to change the system.