During a radio programme last Saturday, Minister Miriam Dalli admitted that many people had paid more than they should have on their utility bills as a result of the problem that emerged at ARMS back in 2024, the PN said Monday.

After several days in which ARMS and the Labour Party tried to claim that the PN was lying and that the system was working properly, the Minister has now admitted that thousands of people were charged more because their bills did not include the Eco-reduction. She is now saying that ARMS will take steps to rectify the problem and refund the money to consumers.

This confirms two things:  First, that it took the Partit Nazzjonalista for ARMS to start addressing the problem and refunding the overpayments, as is being confirmed to us by hundreds of consumers who are contacting us;

Second, this is an admission that for at least a year ARMS concealed this problem from consumers and allowed them to continue overpaying unless they noticed it themselves, the PN said.

While an independent audit may help determine the full extent of the problem, as the PN has already stated, this is no longer an audit issue. This is an issue of trust - one that no audit can repair.

People can no longer have confidence in ARMS' bills and statements as long as the current leadership remains in place. A leadership which the Minister herself is now confirming allowed ARMS to issue incorrect bills for over a year, lied about it, and only took action after everything was exposed by the Opposition.

By choosing to continue defending this behaviour, the Minister is confirming that she was complicit in this deception. This is precisely why she never responded about when she was informed of this error and of these incorrect bills, the PN said.

'Desperate measures from a PN spokesperson whose lies were exposed' - PL

The PL, reacting to the statement, said that "after he was caught lying about ARMS, the PN spokesperson on energy, Mark Anthony Sammut, is now resorting to desperate political attempts to save face, but he's failing miserably. Last week, he called the press from in front of the ARMS offices and released part of an email, hoping that in doing so, he would manage to create a false narrative. He knew that the email, which he did not publish in full, included a reply that contradicted his claims."

"But Sammut plodded on with his lie. His lies exposed, to save face, the PN spokesperson sticks to his false narrative, issuing press statements that have confirmed three things: Firstly, he no longer mentions the 50,000 figure that he mentioned in his previous statement(s). Secondly, the authorities always ensure that everyone receives what is rightfully theirs. Thirdly, the Ministry for the Environment, Energy, and Public Cleanliness went a step further and appointed an independent audit, further reassuring the public that systems continue to be strengthened and improved," the PL said.