134,500 people have their electricity meters read automatically and as a result receive their bill every two months. This information was given by energy minister Joe Mizzi in reply to a parliamentary question by PN deputy leader for parliamentary affairs David Agius.

Out of a total of nearly 160,000 people on the system, 85% receive their bills every two months on actual consumption. As explained in several articles in The Malta Independent, receiving frequent bills with actual readings means that ARMS is taking the electricity bands and rationing them per day. This materialistically may result in higher bills, especially if consumption is not consistent throughout the year.

In the same parliamentary question, Mizzi said once again that no changes were made by ARMS since 2013. He also confirmed that the decision to issue bills every two months was taken in 2012. It however appears that actual bills received every two months are related to smart meters installation.

It was also revealed through another parliamentary question made by Agius to Mizzi that all residential households receive bills every two months, amounting to six bills a year. Larger consumers which are generally industrial or large entities are issued a bill every month. On the other hand some Government departments received their bills every three months.