No electricity is flowing from the Delimara power station extension after the plant was put in “safe shutdown” by Enemalta.

The energy company yesterday confirmed the action was taken after it rejected a report by power plant supplier BWSC on a faulty turbine.

The matter was first raised in Parliament by Labour MP Joe Mizzi on Monday, who said the extension stopped functioning and the computers were switched off.

Enemalta said BWSC submitted “a preliminary report” on the damage sustained by a steam turbine last month. The turbine was fully reassembled and has successfully passed tests at both intermediate and full loads but Enemalta was expecting “a final report”.

“As a result Enemalta will not allow the tests to continue, until such a report is submitted to the Corporation’s satisfaction,” Enemalta said in a statement.

It said the final report will be “critically reviewed” by specialised external consultants engaged by the company.

Enemalta said only then will the plant be allowed to go through the performance tests, which are the final procedures before the plant is taken over.

As a result of Enemalta’s decision not to proceed with performance testing, BWSC has placed the plant in a state of “short-term preservation”.

This means the fuel system in the engines has been flushed with gasoil, all silos have been emptied and the plant has been put in a safe shutdown state.

Enemalta added that to avoid inadvertent operation of the plant by its operators, the control screens and keyboards located in the control room were temporarily disabled.

“The computers, which control the plant, are fully functional and have not been switched off. This is exactly the same action that was taken by BWSC when testing was last postponed following the damage to the steam turbine and is a normal procedure intended to protect the plant prior to its handing over to Enemalta,” the statement said.

Enemalta said previous reliability tests were successful and there was no need for these to be carried out again.

The corporation denied allegations that the exhaust cleaning system was not working properly.

“Abatement levels are better than those stipulated in the contract,” Enemalta said.

With reference to a recent incident when there was a leak during the unloading of waste from the silo to a container, the company said this was caused by a damaged bellow on the unloading nozzle. The bellow will be replaced by BWSC at its cost, Enemalta said.

The multimillion euro extension has been mired in controversy since inception and had to be taken over by Enemalta in October.

This was delayed by the faulty steam turbine and the company has not given a date by when it expects to take over the plant.

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