Adds government reaction - The Labour Party said this afternoon that the major damage to the Delimara power station extension, confirmed by the finance minister this morning, was symptomatic of the failure of the government's energy policy. (See http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20121020/local/enemalta-to-refuse-partial-hand-over-of-power-station-extension.441849 )

The party noted that the damage was first revealed by Labour MP Joe Mizzi on Monday in parliament, when he also tabled pictures.

It hit out at the government for having selected BWSC to extend the Delimara station and for having chosen that type of plant.

It said Malta would now be in a situation where the power station extension, which has been paid for, will be idle, while Malta will depend on the Marsa power station, which was supposed to have been decommissioned.

In a reply, the government said that the fault was not related to type of plant chosen for Delimara. The damage, it said, had been caused to the turbine used in the combined cycle, the same technology used in the older part of the Delimara power station.

It said the new technology of the power station extension had performed substantially better than the contract conditions.