50% refund on electricity bills for businesses

A total budget of €35 million allocated in aim to support over 16,000 businesses

Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses Silvio Schembri gave details on the Electricity Refund Bill Scheme as part of the Plan for the Regeneration of the Economy, which was announced back in June.

“The ultimate aim of this scheme is to reduce costs for businesses whilst support the operating expenditure of those businesses that had to cease or limit their operations due to the pandemic. A lot of thought has been put into this scheme, therefore a total budget of €35 million is being allocated with the aim of supporting over 16,000 businesses across Malta and Gozo. In much the same way we supported businesses during the past months, as a government we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with businesses and families throughout this journey for the regeneration of our economy. Our goal is to keep safeguarding as many jobs as possible,” said Minister Schembri.

The scheme is aimed at all businesses benefitting from the Covid Wage Supplement. Through this scheme, businesses will be reimbursed 50% of the electrical power bills for any bill which partially or fully covers the months of July, August and September.

During the press conference, it was explained that a business with one outlet may claim a grant of up to €1500. On the other hand, businesses with multiple outlets and which employ a substantial number of employees who are benefitting from the Covid Wage Supplement can be eligible for a maximum support of up to €7500.

Further details on the eligibility criteria as explained during the press conference;

Number of employees receiving Covid wage supplement	Number of distinct electricity accounts	Capping €
1-9	1	€1500
10-19	2	€3000
20-29	3	€4500
30-39	4	€6000
40 and over	5	€7500

CEO of Malta Enterprise Kurt Farrugia explained that the application process which businesses should follow will be outlined in an initial email which will be sent by the corporation to all businesses benefitting from the Wage Supplement from 1^st September onwards.

This will be then followed by a link to the online application form through which businesses must submit;

Account Number;

Account Number is to be verified by submitting a scanned copy of any previous bill received (any bill not restricted to July-September).

This will be then followed by an ‘Enterprise in Difficulty Declaration’ form which should be signed and scanned;

Followed then by an ‘Aid Received’ form which must also be signed and scanned.

“Malta Enterprise shall then verify with ARMS the amount paid by the applicant for bills covering the period of July till September. Following that, it shall then proceed with refunding the businesses directly. The process may be repeated until the full allotment per applicant is reached, and refund may be done in more than one payment,” explained Mr Farrugia.

For further assistance, one may contact Business First on 144 during office hours, or by sending an email to regeneration@maltaenterprise.com, or by visiting the website regeneration.maltaenterprise.com or www.maltaenterprise.com.