Impact of new power tariffs explained - Bills may rise by €5 per week for most households
Enemalta saves $62.5m through hedging
Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt said this evening that a proposal being made by the government for a revision of the power and water tariffs would see the bills of 70 percent of households rise by between €1.5 and €5 per week before a new eco-reduction.
He said the proposal was one of five presented to the social partners at an MCESD meeting this morning, and the one which was most likely to be accepted.(see separate story)
In terms of the proposal, 39,000 of the 42,000 commercial clients would see an increase to their bills of €10 to €46 per week before the new eco-reduction.
He said that the new eco-reduction mechanism would apply for clients who did not exceed a certain threshold of consumption. They would enjoy reductions of between 15% and 20% on their bills. The benchmark would be 1,300 units per person per year.
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said 30,000 families who currently do not pay the surcharge would remain protected through a government subsidy.
The ministers explained that the new tariffs structure would replace the current system, including the fuel surcharge and the capping mechanism.
The new system would be backdated to today.
Enemalta chairman Alex Tranter said hedging on oil purchases had saved Enemalta $62.5m between October 2007 and September 2008.