A gas consignment finally arrived in Malta and went out on general sale yesterday after days of shortage. Added to the scarcity of cylinders because of a problem dating back from last year, this crisis left the country in dire straits at a time when gas is needed the most.

Although we understand that the cylinders were, in part, not available due to circumstances beyond Enemalta Corporation’s control, there are lessons to be learnt from what has happened.

It is only fair to say that the arrival of the gas was held up by industrial action in France and the fact that the weather was very bad for shipping. However, Enemalta itself admitted that the shortage was compounded by the fact that 10,000 gas cylinders had to be withdrawn from service last year after they were found to be defective. In addition, Enemalta said it employs outdated work practices at the gas bottling plant which are not enabling the corporation to keep up with the workload.

Demand has in fact increased by 20 per cent over previous years and the corporation has attempted to address the issue by keeping the gas plant open for longer hours and upping production by 16 per cent. However, as was evidently clear, this was not enough. The queues for gas witnessed over the past week were reminiscent of rationing queues – in today’s day and age, this is quite unacceptable.

We reiterate that one can appreciate the specific difficulties related to the shipping of gas from abroad to Malta. However, prior to the budget introduction of the 17 per cent surcharge on electricity and the sharp rise in the price of kerosene, the government should have carried out an impact assessment on the effect it would have had on the use of alternative fuel.

One of the only, if not the only, cheaper alternative to kerosene as well as electric heaters is gas and the government should have taken this into account.

It seems as though no one realised the extent of the impact the budget measures would have had on the gas market, and so we ended up with a problem that could have easily been avoided.

Another issue which needs to be addressed, by Enemalta’s own admission, is the outdated work practices at the bottling plant. It is, at this point, more or less useless to try to implement a quick solution before this winter ends. The corporation and relevant ministry should now concentrate on drafting a solid plan to address this significant problem in preparation for next winter.

Unfortunately, we have a situation where people do not have an alternative. If one cannot afford or indeed does not want to pay a lot of money for heating, gas is the only option. People were therefore rightly angered by the fact that there was none of this alternative fuel available.

It all boils down to the issue of giving people a choice. The government cannot expect to push kerosene and electricity prices up to considerable levels and leave people without an option for heating. Heating is not a commodity; it is a necessity, especially in view of the cold winter we are experiencing.

The government must use the figures it will eventually collect from this winter to plan better for the future. Demand should be re-assessed and the bottling plant must be brought up to scratch in catering for it.

Throughout the coming months, the government should make sure that it imports as many cylinders as are needed since it has been made amply clear that there were not enough to go round.

It is all an issue of planning and taking into account supply and demand.