Releasing details of exchanges leading to a State guarantee for the new power station “could...have a substantial adverse effect on the ability of the government to manage the Maltese economy," the government has said. 

The explanation was one of the reasons mentioned when rejecting a Times of Malta request made under the Freedom of Information Act. This newspaper asked for a copy of all exchanges between the government and other entities related to the grant of an unprecedented €360 million State guarantee covering the new gas-fired energy generation facility and the related power purchase agreements with Electrogas.

The Finance Ministry argues publishing the terms and conditions is not in the public interest because details will “result in an undue disturbance of the ordinary course of business in the community”.

READ: Government rejects most Times of Malta FOI requests

The government also told the Data Protection Commissioner such details would cause many problems for the country.

According to the Finance Ministry, the disclosure of the documents would be contrary to the public interest because “it could reasonably be expected to have a substantial adverse effect on the ability of the government to manage the Maltese economy.”

It also argued that releasing the information could reasonably be expected “to result in an undue disturbance of the ordinary course of business in the community… by reason of giving premature knowledge of or concerning proposed possible action or inaction by the government”.

The agreements related to the deal have so far been provided to the European Commission to assess whether the guarantee could amount to some form of State aid. The power purchase agreement on which the guarantee was based will be signed depending on whether Brussels gives its green light.

The government has declined the Times of Malta's FOI request.

In a decision made after an initial request was rejected by the government, the Data Protection Commissioner said that, after inspecting the related files, it accepted the government’s arguments due to the complex technical nature of the documents and, in particular, “the serious ramifications which an eventual disclosure would have on the ability of the Maltese government to manage the economy”.

Insisting on the importance of government transparency for the proper functioning of a democracy, the Commissioner said that, in this case, disclosing the details sought “could prejudice all parties involved and, possibly, cause irreversible damage to the Maltese economy as a whole”.

The government announced last year it had granted a ‘unique’ €360 million State guarantee to four major banks, including Bank of Valletta, so they could issue loans to the private consortium building the new power plant. Electrogas had failed to raise the necessary capital itself and the government felt it had to intervene to kick-start the project.

Apart from selecting Electrogas to build the new plant, the government pledged to enter into a power purchasing agreement with the private group committing Enemalta to purchase all the energy produced by the new plant, at fixed rates, for the next 18 years. None of the agreements signed have been made public so far.

The EU executive is still studying the relevant documents and no decision on its part has been publicly announced.

The new plant was originally scheduled to go on stream in March 2015. However, after announcing a delay, former health and energy minister Konrad Mizzi pledged the new Delimara facility would be up and running this June.

Last week, he said the project was in an advanced stage, but no new completion date was given.