Financial support for families on energy bills, hedging agreements with international banks and storage plans are among the number of measures being taken by Maltese energy entities so that our country continues to guarantee security of supply and stability in energy prices for families and businesses.
This emerged from a meeting at the Delimara Power Station building that Prime Minister Robert Abela, accompanied by Minister for the Environment, Energy and Public Cleanliness Miriam Dalli, held with representatives from Enemalta, Interconnect Malta, IESC and Enemed.
The technical meeting was held against the backdrop of the international situation in the energy sector, what measures the country is taking to continue guaranteeing stability and the country’s preparedness for external shocks.
The technicians from the respective entities explained how our country has a clear plan, while also looking towards a long-term strategy built on the principles of price stability and certainty of supply.
Prime Minister Robert Abela stated that in difficult and unpredictable international circumstances, where other countries are facing supply shortages and high inflation in energy prices, Malta has managed to keep prices stable thanks to timely decisions and strategic investments. He stressed that the Government will remain determined to continue protecting families and businesses through policies that ensure energy security and economic stability.
The Prime Minister added that all of this is possible because our country has maintained strong public finances, and that now, in times like these, they are allowing the Government to continue to offer a guarantee of stability in the price of energy and certainty in supply.
He also announced with Minister Dalli that, on Friday, the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) will be convened, so that social partners and constituted bodies can be given a direct explanation about the preparations and work being done to ensure that our country remains prepared for any challenge.
Minister Miriam Dalli highlighted the ongoing work to ensure that families and businesses continue to enjoy price and supply stability. “We kept our accounts stable during the pandemic, we maintained price and supply stability during the Ukraine war at the height of the energy crisis and today we are once again guaranteeing that same peace of mind. We are doing this thanks to the assistance of the Government and also to the ongoing planning with Enemalta, Enemed, Interconnect Malta and IESC, among others,” said Minister Dalli.
She explained how, in this moment of international turmoil with particular pressures on the energy sector, the Maltese Government remains committed to remaining by the side of the people. This means that when the Maltese are currently paying €1.34 per litre of petrol and €1.21 per litre of diesel, the average in the Eurozone is much higher: €1.95 per litre of petrol and €2.16 per litre of diesel.
“There are two primary reasons why we are succeeding in doing this: as a European country, we were the first Government to succeed in negotiating and convincing the European Commission so that Malta could meet the impact of high prices on consumers by introducing a subsidy. At the same time, Malta is the only European country that uses the hedging system for automotive fuels. Enemalta also adopts a hedging system and ensures storage,” reiterated Minister Dalli.
Present for this meeting were the Executive Chairman of Enemalta Eng. Ryan Fava, the Chief Executive of Interconnect Malta Eng. Ismail D’Amato, the Executive Chairman of IESC Eng. Johann Zammit, the Executive Chairman of Enemed Kevin Chircop.
Photos: OPM/DOI
