If the PN was in government today, it would also be subsidising the energy sector, the PN’s spokesman on energy, Mark Anthony Sammut, said. However, the PN MP says that the exercise would cost government much less since we would most likely have an operating offshore wind farm.

In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, Sammut said that the PN is not against government’s subsidisation of electricity and fuel in the prevailing circumstances, but says the costs would have been less under the PN since “decisions made in the last decade would not have been choices taken for the benefit of the few”.

Government had shelved the offshore wind farm plan the PN had drawn up in 2010 and only recently said that there will be a change of strategy, with Malta expected to have its first offshore wind farm by 2030, the MP said, adding that so much time has been wasted.

Sammut also criticised the government for not even changing its climate and energy strategy, which still lays down that Malta has no interest in investing in wind farms because they are not viable.

Sammut said that had government followed the original 2010 plan, drawn up by the then Nationalist administration, that of investing in an offshore wind farm, then Malta would also be benefitting from a greener source of energy, which can generate up to 100 megawatts.

In the past months government had decided not to increase the price of electricity and fuel in spite of a substantial rise on the international market as a result of the war in Ukraine. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, in the presentation of the pre-budget document last month, said that government energy and food subsidies will amount to €472.5m this year and will go up to €608m next year.

These subsidies mean that inflation in Malta, at round 7%, is lower than many other EU countries and the EU average, but it also means that there are other things which are affecting prices in Malta. Once the energy crisis passes, it is possible that Malta will still be facing high inflation, Sammut said.

If government did not subsidise the energy prices, inflation in Malta would go above 20%. But, whereas in other countries inflation will drop once the energy crisis is over, in Malta inflation would remain high, he said.

Asked when he believes government will reduce and eventually stop the subsidies, Sammut said that the first thing that government should do, is investigate the contracts that it has “covered and defended”, such as the Electrogas and Socar contracts.

Additionally, Sammut is also urging government to be more transparent and provide a price breakdown as to how much money is being spent on different sectors which provide energy to Malta.

 

Class action on power bills

Sammut was also asked about the class action lawsuit the PN is planning to challenge the computation of electricity bills (the interview was carried out on Wednesday, a day before government announced a new utility bill system which will see 80% of consumers getting a refund of up to €8 a year. The eco-reduction on consumption will also be calculated every two months, rather than at the end of the year, the latter being a matter which the PN had criticised sharply and which led to the idea of a class action).

The PN late last month had announced that it was planning a class action lawsuit against Arms Ltd, after the law courts courts in July ruled that the billing system being used is not correct.

When asked about how tenants or past tenants who paid extra for electricity consumption will be getting their money back from the property owner, Sammut said that it is only the owner of the property who can apply to be part of the class action to be refunded the extra money that was paid.

“This case is about an injustice which was confirmed, not only from the PN's side after it carried out a study, but also by the Auditor General, (former PM) Joseph Muscat and even the courts themselves.”  This is an injustice because of the way the bills were computed.

This means that tenants, who do not have the electricity meter registered on their name, might find difficulty to get their money back, he said. He added that as things stand now, it is only the property owner who can be enlisted in the class action; if the case is won, and the money is refunded, then it is up to the property owner to refund the money to the tenants.

The class action, for which the legal expenses will be borne by the party, will be initiated to fight for people who have paid extra money for the electricity to be given their money back, the MP said. It’s not enough that only one year is being considered, as government is saying, the MP added. This is because the way the bills are computed dates back a number of years, not just one, and this is what the court case to be instituted by the PN will seek to correct, he concluded on the subject.

 

PN’s administration

Asked about the situation within the party – Sammut is also the president of the PN General Council – he said that the party has taken stock of the electoral result and started making a number of changes.

He added that during the summer months the party has been hard at work planning things, with one of the initiatives being the recent class action against Arms.

“There are going to be more initiatives happening,” he said. He added that  the message the party has given during its national protest last Sunday, urging for a better quality of life, was a strong one as “people have shown that now they have started to get frustrated with the situation, with how this government is leading and the effects of the increase in cost of living”.

Sammut said he believes that the first step for the Nationalist Party to show its presence is to mobilise people in the streets. He added that people's turnout in such protests always sends a message, so the better the turnout the stronger the message.

Last week, in an interview with this newspaper, PN Secretary General Michael Piccinino had said that the turnout for the national protest against government over the “theft of Malta’s quality of life” is of secondary importance.

“We can discuss calculations and whether there will be a large turnout, but that is of secondary importance as the Opposition has the responsibility to act as the public’s shield,” Piccinino had said.

Asked whether there were going to be any other national protests, Sammut did not exclude them from happening in the future but said that "one will know in the coming weeks and months".

Sammut said that the PN’s plan to convince people that it is the alternative government will see the party as a group showing that its politics are different than the ones adopted by the Labour Party.

"When we take a decision, the priority has to be how this is going to affect positively the life of the individual and not how it is going to affect the financial situation of a few people."

Additionally, he said that government’s lack of investment in new sectors will result in many fresh graduates to leave the country for better opportunities. He said that will be a problem in the future as there will be a lack of doctors, nurses, teachers and architects, among others.