Mepa said this evening that it had been notified by Enemalta that three of the four plants at Marsa Power Station have now exceeded the 20,000-hour lifetime limit granted under EU rules in 2009.
The time limit had been established in line with the EU's Large Combustion Plants Directive (LCPD) and the European Commission had warned that an extension would not be possible unless strict emissions levels were observed. The government has already sought an extension.
"The Authority is currently assessing the situation and appropriate actions, including further mitigation measures, which may be undertaken by Enemalta due to non-compliance with the permit," Mepa said.
Among other conditions, the permit stipulates emission limit values for dust, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
Permitted emission limit values must be compliant with the Large Combustion Plants Directive 2001/80/EC (LCPD).
Malta had applied the limited lifetime derogation under Article 4(4) (a) of the LCPD.
ENEMALTA REACTION
In a reaction, Enemalta said its overriding duty is to maintain a secure supply of electricity and this had prevented it from shutting down the three plants upon the utilisation of the 20,000 hour derogation.
"Currently, the generating plant at Marsa provides about 45% of the total electricity generating capacity on the Maltese islands and should this power station be shut down at this time, there will be insufficient capacity to meet the full demand for electricity," the corporation said.
"The operation of the plant at Marsa will be reduced considerably with the commissioning of the new 144MW plant at Delimara in 2012; in fact, plants M1 and M2 will be taken out of service in May 2012. The new Delimara plant is unfortunately being commissioned late as a result of the Labour Party-led protests and objections during its tendering and planning processes. The Marsa Power Station will be finally decommissioned once the interconnector to Italy is in service. Despite delays in the interconnector's tendering process due to the elimination of all tendering entities in the first call, contracts for the interconnector have now been signed and work is well underway," Enemalta added.
It also pointed out that over the past five years it had taken important measures to reduce emissions of both SO2 and NOx from the boilers at Marsa.
REQUEST FOR EXTENSION
Last March, The Sunday Times reported that the European Commission had expressed doubts over whether it would permit extending the life of the Marsa power station if emission levels remain above EU standards.
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech had revealed that the government may ask Brussels to extend the life of the ageing power station to bide time until an interconnector with Sicily becomes functional.
He said the hours were "clocking up" but, in any case, the Marsa plant would have to be shut down by the end of 2012.
Mr Fenech said he was confident that with Enemalta's decision to use low sulphur fuel oil, which has reduced emission levels in Marsa, and the government's commitment to invest in energy sources to replace power generation, the Commission should agree to an extension.
However, according to the Commission, an extension will not be possible beyond the 20,000-hour life-limit if the plant fails to conform to strict EU emissions levels.
A Commission spokesman told The Sunday Times that Brussels was not yet aware of the government's intention to request an extension but made it clear this would only be possible if the plant reached the required standard.
In terms of Article 4(4) of the LCP Large Combustion Plants Directive, Enemalta was exempted from the emission limit values as long as it undertook not to operate the plant for more than 20,000 operational hours, starting from January 1, 2008, and ending no later than December 31, 2015.
Enemalta is also obliged each year to submit a record of the used and unused time allowed for the plants' remaining operational life. This information is subsequently reported to the Commission.
The government has originally said that the 20,000 hour-limit would elapse some time during 2012 when the plant will have to be closed.
Asked whether the Commission would accede to the government's request to extend the plant's life by months, the spokesman said this would only be possible if the power station did not exceed the permitted emissions levels after the 20,000-hour limit.
"No mechanism exists for an extension of either the number of operational hours of the plant or of the dates applicable," the spokesman said.
This means that to keep operating, the Marsa power station will have to adhere to even stricter emission rules than those currently in place for old plants.
The building of the extension of the Delimara power station is currently in an advanced stage but is not expected to be completed before the end of the year, with commissioning next year.
Marsa, however, is not expected to be fully decommissioned before the undersea cable link to the European power grid is completed, in 2013.