The Leader of the Opposition and Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg on Monday accused the government and ARMS Ltd of serious mismanagement after claiming that "thousands" of Maltese and Gozitan households were wrongly denied the Eco Reduction on their utility bills.

Speaking at a press conference, Borg said new evidence showed that the problem had not only remained unresolved but had also affected customers with newly installed meters. He rejected claims that the issue involved only a small number of consumers, insisting that "thousands" were impacted.

Earlier today, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli said "hundreds" were affected by the technical issued which she said had been resolved.

Borg accused the Labour Party of using ARMS as a "shield" while misleading the public about the scale of the problem. He said the situation would have remained hidden had it not been exposed by the Nationalist Party, leaving consumers unaware that they were missing out on government subsidies.

According to Borg, many customers only discovered the missing Eco Reduction after personally contacting ARMS, arguing that the authorities failed to proactively inform affected families. He criticised the government for not even sending letters to households entitled to the reduction, despite the financial strain many families are facing.

The Opposition leader also placed responsibility on Energy and Environment Minister Miriam Dalli, noting that she appointed the ARMS board. Borg claimed that board appointments were based on political trust rather than competence, leading to administrative failures with real financial consequences for consumers.

The Nationalist Party is now calling for a formal investigation by the relevant authorities to determine how the error occurred and to prevent similar issues in the future. Borg said this was necessary to restore public confidence and ensure that consumers receive what they are legally entitled to.

He concluded by questioning the government's response to the issue, saying it was "unfortunate" that thousands of affected consumers were being described as "a small number", and warned that further evidence showed even new accounts were excluded from the Eco Reduction.

Asked by journalists, Borg confirmed that the Nationalist Party had entered into an agreement with ARMS to clear pending accounts, adding that these were currently being paid.