Watch your gas cylinder

Residents of Frederick Borg Street, in Iklin had their empty gas cylinders stolen from the front garden of their houses.

Speaking to The Times, a number of residents said people in the neighbourhood usually leave empty cylinders in their front gardens on the day when they expect the gas distributor to deliver a replacement.

But about three weeks ago, after the distributor did not turn up in the area due to a shortage in the supply of cylinders, some empty gas cylinders that had been waiting to be replaced disappeared.

A woman said she could not heat up her house in these cold winter months as she was using the only cylinder left in the house for cooking.

Another resident who lost three cylinders which he had placed behind the gate of his driveway, together with the money and tips for the distributor, said he had reported the matter to Enemalta and applied for new cylinders but was still without a replacement.

"The only thing they would tell me when I called Enemalta was that we should not expect a gas cylinder before January 7," the residents said.

They had spoken to a distributor who said it was not his fault that not enough cylinders were being delivered to customers as it was a problem of supply.

The distribution of gas cylinders was interrupted for a few hours last month as distributors refused to do their rounds insisting on decent profit margins. The situation returned to normal after the Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprise, GRTU, which represents gas distributors, struck an agreement with Enemalta.

Contacted, GRTU director general Vince Farrugia said that during certain periods it was not the first time that distributors sold up to three truckloads of cylinders in a day.

"It's a problem of supply from Enemalta as distributors are ending up getting just half a truckload in a day at times," Mr Farrugia said.

He said the big demand for gas was felt both due to a shortage of cylinders, which came about when Enemalta withdrew a number of "unsafe" cylinders, and because many more people are now relying on gas to heat up their houses after the government increased the price of kerosene in the budget.

"Household appliances retailers have also reported an increase in the sales of gas water heaters. We haven't seen so many newspaper advertisements for gas water heaters for quite a number of years," Mr Farrugia said.

"Consumers are facing a crisis. Some people are even selling cylinders to each other," Mr Farrugia said.

The shortage should be eased on Friday when Enemalta Corporation receives a new consignment of 12-kilogramme gas cylinders.

An Enemalta spokesman said when contacted yesterday that the corporation is expecting 5,532 cylinders on January 7 and another 10,000 should arrive by the end of the month.