Energy Minister Miriam Dalli admitted that "hundreds" of consumers were affected by the ARMS eco-reduction billing issue, insisting that the problem was identified quickly and refunds are being issued "to the last cent."

Speaking to journalists, Dalli initially said that the number of affected consumer was "small" but, when pressed to say if there were tens, hundreds or thousands involved, she replied "hundreds".

Dalli spoke to journalists on Monday after a press conference, where she responded to statements issued by the Nationalist Party that "thousands" of households may have been overcharged on their electricity bills for more than a year, due to an ARMS system failure that removed the eco-reduction line from residential accounts.

PN MP Mark Anthony Sammut had alleged that the money already lost was not refunded, nor did it inform its consumers, but rather waited until people noticed and made complaints.

She referred to an administrative procedure that ARMS had already explained publicly.

"ARMS already spoke about how the problem was addressed, and that there were a small number of people who were affected, and those were addressed immediately," Dalli said.

She added that ARMS had also explained that anyone who might still be affected should contact the company directly, reiterating that the number of affected consumers was "very small."

Asked what decisions she took when she became aware of the problem, Dalli said ARMS had acted immediately.

"As I explained, ARMS addressed the situation immediately. It was a technical situation which arose when ARMS changed its system. ARMS explained how it identified the problem and addressed those affected immediately," she said.

Asked when she first became aware of the issue, Dalli said that what she could ascertain was that this government had always ensured that people received everything that was due to them.

"I reassure everyone that this government makes sure that everyone receives what they are due. Nobody will receive anything less," Dalli said.

"Contrary to this government, a PN government left high utility bills, rarely reducing them. This government saw to make those bills cheaper. In the face of the country's problems, we kept prices stable, changed the feed-in tariff a PN government left which would have left many people without a feed-in tariff, and we saw that this was rectified," she said.

She reassured everyone's minds that under this government, nobody will lose anything they are due.

When asked again how many people were affected, Dalli said ARMS could give the exact figure but repeated that the number was small.

Pressed on whether the number was in the tens, hundreds or thousands, she said it was "in the hundreds."

Asked whether refunds had started and how much had already been paid, Dalli said ARMS had already begun the refund process.

"ARMS changed its system, there was a technical situation which resulted in some bills not being issued with the eco-reduction line. Those bills were identified, and ARMS saw to it that it would refund everyone till the last cent," Dalli said.

"If there are leftover, isolated bills, those people must immediately contact ARMS," she added.

Asked whether the refund process was ongoing, Dalli said it had started immediately once the situation was identified.

"The process started immediately and everything was rectified within a period of a few weeks," she said.