Leaks in Delimara engines ‘normal’

The technical problems encountered at the Delimara power station extension were “normal” occurrences throughout the lifetime of any electricity generation plant, according to Enemalta.

In a statement, the corporation said these problems were common during the initial year of operation as a result of teething troubles and assured the country that its power supply was secure.

The corporation was reacting to Labour MP Joe Mizzi’s claims in Parliament on Tuesday that three diesel engines of the controversial plant had sprung leaks.

It said the small leaks into the combustion chamber did not affect the operation of the engine and posed no risk of damage. Nonetheless, its engineers, alongside contractor BWSC, had decided to take action to minimise or eliminate these leaks.

All eight engines were operational and any remaining leaks were within the accepted levels, the corporation said.

“None of the leaks have anything to do with the kind of fuel used and these, in fact, happened in engines when using both fuel oil and diesel.”

The corporation said it was “unfortunate” that Mr Mizzi had chosen to report the information he received from people on site without taking into account the larger picture.

Enemalta said it was also unfortunate that Mr Mizzi had decided to give the wrong information about the nation’s security of supply.

“Last winter’s peak happened in February at 368MW. At present, Enemalta has 250MW capacity at Delimara, of which 50MW is currently unavailable due to maintenance, and 150MW at Marsa.

“This total does not include the four boilers currently shut down but that can be put back in service to produce an additional 100MW,” the corporation said.

It said the total was even above the summer peak of 429MW.