Labour’s four proposals on energy and on buying oil at preferential rates are nothing short of pathetic, the Investment, Industry and IT ministry has said.

The Labour Party should have known that Enemalta is already buying a significant part of its oil requirements through hedging agreements, the ministry said, adding that Minister Austin Gatt had said so several times in parliament.

The ministry said it agreed on the need for a campaign so that households could reduce their energy costs however this would not have any significant effect on the reality of the high price of oil, the ministry added.

The proposal for the government to give incentives to industry operators to be more energy efficient is ridiculous in the context of today’s privatised environment, the ministry said.

“Labour is ignoring the fact that Maltese industry is saving around Lm4.5 million a year in electricity bills due to the capping of Lm21,000 per bill.”

The ministry said Labour’s plan for a long-term strategy on oil purchasing was simply a show of words without any concrete proposals.

It called on the Labour Party to comment on the ministry’s document on oil purchasing that was tabled in Parliament recently.