Speakers for the government and the Opposition continued to contradict each other on the true financial situation of Enemalta Corporation with former Finance Minister Tonio Fenech criticising the fact that the estimates only ran to a mere three pages, with no financial statements being attached.
This was preventing the Opposition and the House from carrying out their duty to scrutinise the figures, he said.
Mr Fenech questioned how the electricity tariffs had been reduced. Was Enemalta simply absorbing the reductions and thus being loaded with further debts?
He also referred to the ElectroGas contract on which full transparency had been promised, and yet, no one had seen this contract.
When one looked at the financial estimates, it was clear that Enemalta’s debt was set to increase
Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi had claimed that there would be a €33 million injection into the economy leading people to believe that the reduction in tariffs would leave them with more money in their pockets. However, when one looked at the financial estimates, it was clear that Enemalta’s debt was set to increase, because even if the €33 million did come in, Enemalta would be in debt for another €60 million.
Enemalta was not paying the government back but was simply keeping the revenue to pay its own bills.
Employees at Enemalta had been promised job stability but in fact what was guaranteed was their shift, not their pay cheque, as the Chinese did not want those conditions.
Dr Fenech said the government should stop shifting the blame and smearing the name and integrity of the PN administration. He had already filed a libel case in this regard and he would prove that more than 1,000 smart metres were being tested at the time before being connected to the central system.
Opposition MP Ryan Callus repeatedly questioned Dr Mizzi’s oft-repeated assertion that the government had at all times kept safety at and around Delimara a top priority. He said the Opposition still felt this was not true, especially after the rushed application process for the new power station.
Mr Callus said the government’s handling of the Delimara project was characterised by the hiding of important aspects. The fact that the Occupational Health and Safety Authority was chaired by a government backbencher (Deo Debattista), and the situation was similar in others, meant that these so-called authorities had no independence.
Luciano Busuttil (PL), with tongue firmly in cheek, held out the possibility that the new power station might yet be named Alice. He was referring to the PN’s pre-election jibe that Labour’s energy plans were “Alice in Wonderland”.
He said it was impossible to calculate what the use of heavy fuel oil at Delimara’s BWSC plant was costing the country in terms of health.
In 2011, the PN government had said the changeover to gas was impossible in view of the costs involved. Yet the Labour government had already been working on it within its first year in office.
Ċensu Galea (PN) said cooperation was needed between Enemalta and local councils, as many new roads in new residential areas did not have sufficient street lighting.
Transport Malta and Enemalta also needed to cooperate more because it seemed no one wanted to be held accountable. A delineation of responsibilities was crucial so that the necessary work could be carried out.
He pointed to the numerous traffic accidents involving vehicles crashing into street lamps and poles which then remained broken for months. Mr Galea specifically cited a damaged electricity pole on the road leading to the Gozo ferry which had been that way for four months, posing a serious risk to drivers because of lack of lighting.
Labour MP Charles Mangion, who until his by-election to Parliament was Enemalta chairman, said the private-public agreement for capital investment was binding the government to buy its gas supply from a private company for a price which would be guaranteed to remain stable. This plan would assure that, together with the interconnector, the country would have security of supply that would remain in its hands.
The Labour government had found an investor with a minority shareholding to inject capital to improve cash flow. Shanghai electric power was a well-established company.
The direct attack on electricity theft was a major part of the internal restructuring. Every one per cent saved on non-technical losses were millions of euros saved for Enemalta, he said.
Referring to the credit control operated by ARMS Ltd, Dr Mangion described it as the most incompetent entity ever created, with over €150 million in arrears.
Enemalta needed to improve its distribution and the fact that the European Investment Bank itself had come forward to invest showed the trust which this corporation had gained with rating agencies.
Dr Mangion said that everyone, including the PN government, had given up on bringing Enemalta back on its feet but the Labour government had since proven that the goals in its electoral manifesto regarding the energy sector would be met, while the corporation would contribute further to the economy with the creation of further jobs.