Opposition leader Bernard Grech today pledged that a Nationalist party in government would give back €50 million to consumers after reports have shed light on the fact that they could have paid “extra charges” on their electricity and water bills since 2013.

He was reacting to a report published by Times of Malta on Wednesday which revealed that a draft report by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that consumers could have paid “extra charges” totalling €6.5 million on their electricity and water bills.

Grech said that the NAO audit confirmed what the PN had already claimed.

“To this day no justice has been done to the people, neither by former PL leader Joseph Muscat nor by Prime Minister Robert Abela. The government has a legal and moral duty to find any way to give back what was stolen,” Grech said.

The NAO found a variance of €4.6 million in electricity bills and €1.9 million variance in water bills. A legal challenge was mounted by two consumers in 2019, who are arguing the calculation of their bills on a pro-rata basis rather than an annual one was leading them to be overcharged by ARMS, the state utilities billing arm.  

PN Deputy leader David Agius recalled that the Nationalist Party has been meeting people for months and seeing how, out of more than 1,400 bills, 80% were paying higher bills than they should. He also recalled that Joseph Muscat, in 2018 and 2019 had promised the public that labour in government will correct anomalies in the electricity and water billing system.

“Although the Labour Party leader has changed, PM Abela has still not done anything on this matter but continues stealing from the people. Stolen money which many do not know where this is going,” Agius said.

Meanwhile, energy spokesman Ryan Callus said “that the government is not interested in correcting these anomalies. It is evident that the labour government has committed our country to buying all the energy from Electrogas, even if not all consumption is used.”

He said that during the Covid-19 pandemic there was a decrease in consumption and Enemalta made a loss of €30 million. This also affected many workers who ended up being transferred to other departments despite being professional in their work.

“Not only is money being lost because of this deal, but also the resource we can use at a lower price, from the interconnector, is being lost. The Nationalist party is presenting a 30-year program,” Callus said.

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The National Audit Office (NAO) has noted the report made by Times of Malta, saying that “smart meters’ contribution to more accurate and timely utilities bill are based on a draft working copy of the report, which was still in the process of being updated.” 

The NAO explained that in accordance to performance auditing standards, Section 129 0f ISSAI 3000, the NAO provides the opportunity to audited entities to comment on the audit findings, conclusions and recommendations before the SAI publishes the audit report. 

“This procedure ensures that auditees are kept informed of the developments within the audit, the audit report is factually correct, and that any potential misinterpretation between the auditors and auditees are addressed,” the statement read. 

Within this context, the NAO solicits comments from audited entities by forwarding its draft reports under confidential cover. The distribution of this documentation is restricted to officials who are in a position to contribute towards the final version of the report. 

Consequently, this Office reiterates that media references to works in progress do not constitute the NAO’s official position and are damaging to the organisations and stakeholders involved.