€10,500 electricity bill for 'empty' house cut to €250

A Gozitan woman living in the US received an electricity bill of almost €10,500 for a house she said had been uninhabited for 20 years.

Luckily for her, the Ombudsman intervened and the bill was reduced to €250 because Enemalta Corporation had destroyed the only evidence it had to support its case: the electricity meter.

The hefty bill was issued in November 2002, backdated to several years. Until that point, the woman had only received bills for rental of the meter as readings were not being taken.

Stunned by the bill, the homeowner requested a revision, pointing out that the house had not been occupied for 20 years. Enemalta slashed the bill by some €2,200 but she still refused to pay.

The corporation eventually removed the old meter from the house and replaced it, insisting that tests had shown it was working properly and demanding that the woman pay up.

When the Ombudsman questioned the amount registered in the meter reading, saying it did not add up, Enemalta argued that, since the meter had been in good working order, it was likely that the recorded consumption was the result of a leakage of electricity.

The Ombudsman criticised the corporation's decision to destroy the meter before the dispute had been resolved, saying it was the best evidence it had to ever prove the arrears were due.

He, therefore recommended that Enemalta should stop asking for the outstanding amount and the corporation agreed to drastically revise the bill to just over €250.