Enemalta has not presented a request for tariffs revision with MRA
Charlot Zahra
Enemalta Corporation has not yet filed a request with the MRA for the revision of the electricity tariffs for the six-month period starting in November, Business Today has learnt.
Asked by this newspaper whether Enemalta had filed this request to the MRA, an Enemalta spokesperson said: “Enemalta has not yet presented any recommendations to the MRA on the revision of tariffs.
The Enemalta spokesperson added that the exercise to revise electricity tariffs was “still under review by Enemalta Corporation as this is part of an ongoing process”.
Asked about when did Enemalta expect to file its request for the revision of these tariffs, and whether there was a specific deadline for this, the Enemalta spokesperson was non-committal in this respect.
“This is an ongoing exercise and no dates have been set,” the Enemalta spokesperson told Business Today.
The current electricity tariffs were introduced with effect from 1 April 2009, and under the system introduced by the Government, the power tariffs are revised every six months, therefore according to the pre-established formula, Enemalta should have presented the tariffs for revision by the end of this month.
The fact that Enemalta had not presented its tariffs until now is an indication that the Government might be waiting to present the tariffs during the Budget speech or even later, perhaps at the end the year.
The presentation of the request to MRA is the first step that Enemalta has to take according to the tariff revision system adopted a year ago under which utility tariffs are adjusted according to the price of fuels and Enemalta’s expenditure.
Then MRA has to analyse the impact of Enemalta’s proposals and whether the workings presented by the Corporation are indeed correct.
In March 2009, MRA had appointed an external auditor to check the workings presented by Enemalta Corporation.
It is only after the MRA is satisfied that the proposed tariffs are correct that the Authority then gives the approval to Enemalta Corporation to implement the proposed tariffs.
Speaking to sister paper Illum last Sunday, an MRA spokesperson had said that Enemalta Corporation had not yet presented the revised tariffs to the Authority.
Asked by Illum whether the Corporation had presented its request for the revision of the electricity tariffs for the six-month period starting on 1 November 2009, an MRA spokesperson had said: “No”.
Last Sunday week, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who was being interviewed by RTK News Manager Leonard Callus at the Zebbug Nationalist Party club, first gave a clear indication that the electricity tariffs were going to rise after the international price of crude oil had risen to US$ 70 a barrel.
