The Labour Party cannot trust Enemalta when it claims that it will take more abatement measures at the Marsa power station since the planning authority had already deemed the abatement measures it was taking as "insufficient".
Addressing a news conference this afternoon, PL spokesman Leo Brincat quoted from a confidential memo sent on June 6 by Mepa's chief executive Ian Stafrace to Mepa officers at Hexagon House as well as chairman Austin Walker and environment protection director Petra Bianchi on Mepa's actions regarding the issue of Hexagon House.
One of the issues Dr Stafrace raised was about the Marsa power station which included a tank farm where certain abatement measures had to be taken to reduce foul smells.
Dr Stafrace said: "On review of this permit, Mepa has deemed such abatement as being insufficient and is requesting Enemalta to install further abatement measures."
Mr Brincat said that the environmental permit was issued in March 2010. On the basis of this, he added, Enemalta could not be trusted when it said it would increase abatement measures to mitigate fact that three of its plants had surpassed the 20,000 hours derogation granted by the European Commission.
The spokesman said Malta had an energy crisis with an environmental and financial cost, which, the public would have to shoulder.
The problem was that the country had no national energy plan and the situation it was in today was a result of the government's lack of planning and mismanagement over the years
The news conference was also addressed by spokesmen Evarist Bartolo and Joe Mizzi.
They said it was unacceptable that Enemalta blamed the PL for the delays in the commissioning of the Delimara power station extension.
In a statement issued yesterday, Enemalta blamed the PL's "protests and objections" during its tendering and planning processes.
The operation of the plant at Marsa would be reduced considerably with the commissioning of the new 144MW plant at Delimara in 2012. In fact, plants M1 and M2 would be taken out of service in May 2012.
The work on the extension, Mr Bartolo said, was never held back or stopped despite the PL's objections to the contract awarded to BWSC.
The Delimara extension process started in February 2005 and it took the corporation 33 months to change the law that regulated emissions in such a way that would eventually allow BWSC to participate in the tendering process with diesel engines running on heavy fuel oil. In this time frame, Mr Bartolo said, government had also changed its policy to have the extension operating on heavy fuel oil instead of gas.
He quoted from a confidential Enemalta dossier that was drawn up in March 2008 in which then chief executive David Spiteri Gingell had admitted that the extension was already late.
Enemalta had the cheek (irid ikollok wiccek imcappas bil-heavy fuel oil) to blame the PL for delaying the extension, he said.