The government has increased the price of fuel because it has to pay more for electricity

The government has increased the price of petrol, diesel and paraffin by four cents a litre, despite Konrad Mizzi’s calendar boast for this very month (see picture below) that fuel prices are “cheap and stable”.

People are understandably aggrieved, and the Opposition is raising hell about it, pointing out that fuel prices are now as high as they were when Joseph Muscat, in his role as Opposition leader, urged people out to protest in 2011. But back in 2011, oil was $95 a barrel and now it’s $52.

I’m surprised the Opposition hasn’t made the connection between the government’s sudden and unexpected four-cent increase in the price of fuel and the fact that later on this year it will have to pay Electrogas Malta Ltd five cents more per kilowatt hour than it pays for electricity bought via the interconnector. To make up for the increased costs it will incur by paying Electrogas Malta too much for electricity, and balance its budget, the government has had to increase the price of fuel.