Energy has proved to be a controversial political issue in Malta, with plenty of mud-slinging and accusations emerging from the rival political camps. This is unfortunate, as most people don’t have a clear picture about the energy situation in our country; when politicians hijack the debate to make political capital out of it, this only complicates matters.

Consumers and businesses are without doubt interested in having affordable electricity rates as well as a clean, efficient, reliable and environment-friendly energy system. They deserve sincerity and honesty, not cheap partisan allegations, when the political parties formulate their energy policies.

The Labour government needs to show more transparency it its energy dealings while the Nationalist Party must be honest enough to admit that when it left office, Enemalta was in a disastrous financial situation.

The reduction in electricity tariffs over these last three years has certainly been welcomed by both consumers and businesses. This has boosted people’s purchasing power, made industry more competitive and contributed to Malta’s impressive economic growth. The Chinese investment in Enemalta, as well as the considerable reduction in the corporation’s original huge debt, is also welcome.

The government says the tariff cuts have been made possible because of anticipated savings in energy costs as a result of the new gas-powered plant that is being built (whose timing is way off target). While this may be a factor, it is surely also true that Enemalta’s bottom line has been helped both by record low oil prices as well as the interconnector from Sicily supplying cheap electricity. Indeed, it is not unreasonable to ask whether a new power station was needed in order to cut tariffs.

On the other hand, the Nationalist Party must acknowledge that when in government it did almost nothing to shift energy production to gas, which is cheaper and cleaner, opting instead for a BWSC plant that works on heavy fuel oil.

This is a time of great change in our energy sector. Major projects are in the pipeline: the BWSC plant is being converted to be able to run on natural gas, a new gas-fired power station is being built by Electrogas (a private consortium) and an LNG terminal – including a floating storage facility – is being constructed.

There have been legitimate safety concerns associated with the LNG vessel in Marsaxlokk Bay and these need to be properly addressed by the government. Also, the fact that the new gas-fired plant at Delimara will have to be shut down for a few days when supply from the LNG tanker is disrupted in the event of a severe storm is not an ideal situation. It is important that the country has the necessary energy back-up in such a scenario.

The government’s major weak point in its energy policy is without doubt its lack of transparency. It has still not published the contract signed with Electrogas or the contract covering the sale of the BWSC plant to Shanghai Electric. This has caused eyebrows to be raised, and the fact that Konrad Mizzi, who has been associated with the Panama Papers, is still responsible for the energy sector certainly does not help matters.

Furthermore, Enemalta’s commitment to purchase electricity from the new Electrogas power plant for 18 years has not been properly explained to the public by the government. In a scenario where an element of competition has been introduced in the supply of electricity – Electrogas, the Shanghai Electric-owned BWSC and the interconnector from Sicily – is this not a case of preferential treatment for Electrogas?

It is only the contracts in question that can tell us how Enemalta intends purchasing its electricity needs from the various providers and whether the country is set to get the maximum price benefit or not. The public has a right to know.

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