The need for a strong communications campaign on the Delimara power station emerged from a consumer research study, Enemalta said yesterday.

Referring to a statement by Labour MP Leo Brincat on Wednesday in which he criticised the corporation for its “deceitful” adverts, Enemalta said the results of this qualitative study highlighted the necessity of better communication with the public through an informative advertising campaign.

“This information campaign, which states the bare facts, based on extensive studies carried out, was also necessary to counter misinformed speculation and cannot fairly be described as being deceitful,” Enemalta said.

Referring to Mr Brincat’s statement that the government had opted for the most polluting technology, Enemalta said that, in actual fact, via the new abatement technology which will be adopted, it was not only dust emissions which would be reduced, but also CO2 - by 470,000 tons annually, NOx by 2,300 tons annually and SO2 by 6,300 tons annually.

Fuel consumption would be reduced by 218,000 tons annually.

So Mr Brincat’s claim that the government had opted for the most polluting technology was incorrect. The reduction in emissions proved otherwise, and the plant conforms to all EU Directives and will assist Malta in achieving the National Emissions Ceiling Directive targets.

Enemalta said that its new plant at Delimara would reduce CO2 emissions by 470,000 tons annually and Enemalta would be saving €500,000 per week (€26 million a year) on fuel. This meant that the plant would pay for itself in less than 7 years.

The government, Enemalta said, was investing in a new and efficient generating plant which met all EU directives at the lowest cost to the consumer and the national economy.

It was also investing in an interconnector to Sicily to purchase electricity from Europe.

This would drastically reduce emissions locally. It was clear that the use of natural gas would help reach the 2020 CO2 emissions targets, but would not be sufficient after that date.

An interconnector combined with efficient local generation when needed, would go beyond the 2020 targets.