Enemalta knows who the consumers who paid for a tampered smart meter are, the parliamentary secretary for justice Owen Bonnici said during a press conference today.

The press conference came hot on the heels of the PN’s accusations that the government has no right to offer an amnesty to consumers who paid for a tampered meter.

Dr Bonnici said that the consumers can come forward and offer information on the officials involved in the tampering.

He pointed out that the Whistleblower’s act can offers protection to those who come forward with fresh information, pointedly saying that “we want this rubbish to stop."

“Do not let us come for you, we have the details of the persons. You have to give us the information, then we can go for the big fish,” Dr Bonnici warned consumers.

‘Not prudent to publish list of names’ at this stage

Dr Bonnici and energy minister Konrad Mizzi said that Enemalta has a list of the consumers involved, but it would not be prudent to publish their names for the time being.

Neither of them have seen the list, they said.

Both Dr Bonnici and Dr Mizzi expressed their conviction that there is more to the scandal than meets the eye, and the big fish is yet to be caught.

Dr Bonnici called it “easy” to bring 1,000 small fish to justice, but it is catching the mastermind that is important. 

The parliamentary secretary said that consumers coming forward will be made to pay for the stolen consumption, plus interest. He said that a vital part of the deal is that those coming forward give information on all those involved to the authorities. 

Enemalta Chairman has right to grant waiver

Dr Bonnici said that the government is basing its actions on a 2006 legal notice which grants the Enemalta Chairman the ability to waive consumers’ criminal liability in such cases.

The attorney general has told the government that Article 115 of the criminal code does not provide for cases like this, and in the eyes of the law those using the tampered meters have not bribed a public official.

He accused the previous administration of ignoring €240 million worth of electricity theft during its tenure.

Dr Mizzi said that he will give former minister responsible for Enemalta Tonio Fenech the benefit of the doubt, and put the oversight down to “incompetence.”

“Every year Enemalta’s audited accounts showed the extent of electricity theft and these accounts were sent to minister Fenech,” Dr Mizzi said.

He said that the PN invested a lot in smart meters, and there is no point having a tool if you do not use it properly.

He accused the PN of keeping Dr Fenech “hidden”,  saying they know how he slept on the scandal. 

Dr Mizzi pointed out that in 2006, Austin Gatt who was then responsible for Enemalta gave a “blanket pardon” to all those stealing electricity. He said that those granted the pardon only had to pay a fine of Lm100, and did not have to pay for the stolen electricity.

Prime Minister reacted angrily to theft

The energy minister said that prime minister Joseph Muscat reacted angrily when he was first informed about the extent of the electricity theft, which rocketed to 30million a year in 2011.

Dr Mizzi explained how the theft control unit uncovered the racket, which eventually led to the suspension of eight Enemalta officials.

The smart meters are designed to log water and electricity consumption remotely, without the need for a physical meter reading.

The energy minister said that both smart meters used in households as well as those in business have been tampered with.

The smart meters which were tampered with were set to record only 20% of the units consumed.