Enemalta Corporation has given businesses and families until tomorrow to regularise their position if they have been stealing electricity.

Since the scheme was launched in March, some 1,400 applications have been received by the corporation in this regard. Those who apply in time – that is by tomorrow – pay a non-refundable deposit, depending on the services used with a minimum of Lm100, and in turn will not have to face civil and criminal penalties.

Electricity theft is a crime. For many years it was not given the attention that it should have, although the corporation knew that the practice was rather widespread. The above figure shows how extensive the problem is and, during the press conference to launch the scheme, it had been said that electricity theft accounted for some Lm7 million.

With the cost of producing energy increasing rapidly over the past year or so because of the situation in the international oil market, Enemalta could no longer ignore the issue. It is unfair that most people pay their dues to the corporation and others don’t, as ultimately it is the public in general that has to pay up those Lm7 million.

The scheme for people to regularise their position as drawn up by Enemalta has given everyone the chance to comply. The corporation could have easily resorted to taking action against people who steal electricity without giving them the opportunity to make things up. But it chose to offer a one-time chance, making it clear however that it will no longer tolerate abuse.

The sum people and businesses had to pay to regularise themselves with Enemalta, compared to the hefty fines they could face if they are caught tampering with the electricity meter after Friday, is small. After the deadline, the corporation will, rightly so, not be lenient with perpetrators.

Non-refundable deposits collected have so far reached Lm140,000, and Enemalta estimates that it will be recovering up to Lm300,000 a year from what was known as “unrecognised electricity consumption”.

Of the 1,400 applications received by the corporation so far, 1,250 arrived from Maltese and the remainder from Gozitans. Corporation chairman Ing. Alex Tranter however expressed his disappointment that only 20 of the applications received were from commercial customers.

This could be interpreted to mean that the corporation knows that there are many more enterprises that are stealing electricity, and yet have not taken the chance to put their house in order. If caught, these enterprises – and also families – will now have to pay the price.

This is because changes to legislation have made it easier for Enemalta to curb theft of electricity and take action against those caught abusing the service. In the past, the police would have had to be called in to take action, but now Enemalta can suspend a client’s

electricity supply with immediate effect and demand payment.

This will be calculated on established benchmarks according to the type of household or business. The estimate will be over a five-year period and the client would have to pay his dues plus an extra 10 per cent of the total value.

All this shows that Enemalta means business. “We want people to realise that we are not taking the issue lightly. This is an opportunity for those who have tampered with the service to regularise their position now and not risk hefty fines when they are caught,” Ing. Tranter said.

He could not be clearer. Inspections that will be carried out by Enemalta inspectors as from Saturday could lead to trouble for people who are caught stealing electricity. The fact that the number of inspectors has been increased to 30 over the past years is evidence that the corporation will leave no stone unturned to get what is due.