The gas power station will be delayed by “a couple of months not years”, the Prime Minis-ter yesterday told supporters in Marsaxlokk.

Dr Muscat was speaking at the Labour Party club on the waterfront across the bay from where the new power plant and gas handling infrastructure should be built.

“I came here because I know that your concerns about the new power station go far beyond cheaper utility rates that have benefitted everyone… this concerns your health,” Dr Muscat said.

Using much of his time to explain the government’s energy plan, he insisted the delay was a result of protracted talks between the consortium that was to build the gas plant and Shanghai Electric Power, the Chinese company that would invest in Enemalta.

In the next couple of weeks we will announce an investment of €300 million

The talks concerned technical issues linked to the conversion to gas of the existing BWSC power station – the more recent plant – at Delimara, an investment that would be undertaken by the Chinese, he added.

Shanghai Electric is expected to acquire a 30 per cent stake in Enemalta and purchase a majority shareholding in the BWSC plant.

But his explanation was criticised by the Nationalist Party who called on the Prime Minister to “stop taking people for a ride”.

“The Prime Minister has been for the past year and a half saying that the project was on track but it transpires none of this was true,” the PN said, adding that Dr Muscat lacked credibility.

Dr Muscat said the new power station would be built and energy generation would shift completely to natural gas as had been pledged.

“The delay is of a couple of months not years but it will happen as promised and businesses will also get a 25 per cent reduction in electricity bills next March,” he said.

Doubts were cast on the gov-ernment’s ability to cut tariffs for industry in March 2015 when it became apparent the gas plant would not have been ready by then.

But Dr Muscat insisted the tariff reductions were possible irrespective of the power station’s completion date and ruled out that taxpayer money would compensate for the cuts.

Explaining the government’s plan for the energy sector, Dr Muscat said the first priority was to save Enemalta from financial ruin.

“In the next couple of weeks we will announce an investment of €300 million [by Shanghai Electric] in Enemalta,” he said, adding that the first joint overseas investment between Enemalta and the Chinese company would also materialise.

Dr Muscat said the second priority was to get the interconnector cable to Sicily up and running that would help Enemalta source cheaper electricity. The interconnector would provide stability but the price of electricity would still be higher than that generated by the gas plant, he added.

Addressing criticism that the government could do without the new power station once it had the interconnector, Dr Muscat insisted it did not make sense to depend on it.

“Sicily has its own problems with electricity because it is poorly linked to the Italian mainland and if they end up without supply we will also have no electricity,” he said.

Dr Muscat said the third priority was to close down the aged Marsa power station in the coming months, promising workers they would not lose their jobs.

The Prime Minister’s comments came on the same day that Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi was quoted by all major newspapers admitting the gas project was delayed.

Dr Mizzi told The Sunday Times of Malta that a date for completion would be announced in November.

Armier smart meters to combat theft

Boathouse owners at Armier will get smart meters even if they had none, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has confirmed.

He said the decision formed part of the government’s drive to stop electricity theft and ensure Enemalta collected all its dues.

In August, Times of Malta revealed that Enemalta was in the process of installing smart meters at the illegal boathouses, which number 800. According to un-official estimates only a quarter have a meter.

The government is currently in talks with owners to sanction the shanty town.

Defending the government’s actions, Dr Muscat said there were enough stories of people connecting to their neighbours’ supply or illegally siphoning off electricity from street lights.

“We cannot have a situation where people use electricity without paying for it... this is not about legitimising boathouses but a programme to make sure that users pay for their consumption,” he said.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com