It was inevitable that, one fine day, the government would have had to increase the water and electricity surcharge. With the price of oil on the international market not only passing the $100 per barrel mark but quickly moving up to hover around $130, there is no other option but for the expense to be passed on to the consumer.
The government has already said that with the prevailing international situation, the electricity surcharge will go up as from 1 July.
Late last year, the government had announced that, come what may, the surcharge would have remained at 50 per cent right till the end of June. But those were different times. The election was a few weeks away and with an opposition that had the cost of living as one of its battle cries, the government wanted to limit the damage as much as possible. It was, so to speak, a move not to lose votes.
That the surcharge was one of the main election issues was also evident from the fact that the Malta Labour Party pledged to cut it by half if it was elected, although it never really explained how it was going to do it. On the other hand, the Nationalist Party said that by doing so the MLP was only encouraging waste of energy, while wondering how an MLP government would have financed such a move.
How to save energy is, perhaps, the most important point that needs to be put across to the people. The water and electricity rates have not been touched; it is only the surcharge that fluctuates according to the price of oil. Therefore the amount of surcharge that is paid is one that is based on the consumption of energy.
Just like Value Added Tax, which is paid on consumption, the surcharge on electricity is charged on the volume of energy that is consumed. The more one uses energy, the more one will pay extra in terms of the surcharge imposed. The less one uses energy, the less one will pay.
Over the past weeks, several government exponents have spoken about the need to conserve energy and waste as little as possible. Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said that the government will be investing in an information campaign on energy saving, a proposal that is intended to make the country more energy efficient.
A few days later, Transport, Communications and Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt said that there was a plan to introduce intelligent electricity meters that will allow consumers to monitor and manage their demand and help improve energy conservation.
These are all positive moves that, once implemented, will go a long way into instilling a sense of discipline among the people in terms of energy saving. Yet, these initiatives must not take long to see the light of day.
The Maltese people must start, as from now, to realise that better control of energy use would not only help the protection of the environment but also ultimately lead to a cheaper electricity bill.
Little things can contribute a lot to save energy. Why should lights be left on when there is no one in the room, or when the drawing of the curtains would bring in enough sunlight? Why should high voltage bulbs be used when a lower voltage would be enough? And why shouldn’t energy-saving bulbs be used anyway? Why should appliances be left on stand-by?
The raising of the surcharge will no doubt lead to complaints and to a rise in the cost of living, if people continue to use the same energy they have been doing so far. But better control and more discipline could lead to energy saving and lower costs.