The searing heat and the loud, constant hum of machines were replaced by a strange chill and a surreal silence as the Marsa power station ceased all operations, in the final chapter of its 62-year lifetime.
The power station’s employees looked emotional as they watched a clip filmed on February 15 showing the final shudders from lowering gauges, cooling thermostats and machinery as Unit 8 was turned off and, for the first time in 61 years, the plant was finally put to sleep.
Speaking yesterday at a glittering official ceremony, Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi said that following the trial period in which various tests were conducted to ensure that the Delimara plant could shoulder the burden of generating electricity for the entire country, Marsa’s turbines could remain permanently switched off.
The plant, inaugurated in 1953, is now on “cold standby” meaning if a serious technical fault occurs at Delimara, it can be switched back on. However, after the Delimara plant is completed and supply from the interconnector kicks in, the Marsa plant will be dismantled.
Tests were conducted to ensure Delimara could shoulder the burden and Marsa power station’s turbines could remain off
Dr Mizzi noted that, a few weeks ago, the last heavy fuel oil consignment for the Marsa power station had arrived.
Next year will see Malta’s switch to a gas-powered plant, he said. The Phase 1 plant at the Delimara power station will be dismantled while the gas tanks at Qajjenza and 31 ta’ Marzu at Birżebbuġa are being cleaned out.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that the entire country, especially people living in the south, will be able to take a deep breath.
“This day is 27 years late but it’s finally here,” Dr Muscat said.
He was speaking at a time when, ironically, his government should have been opening a new gas-fuelled power station that had been promised “in two years’ time” as he was coming to power in March 2013. That plant has now been delayed to next year.
Yesterday Dr Muscat said: “I am very touched by the employees’ intervention, which imparted a sense of belonging and pride in their work.” The plant stood as a tribute to Enemalta employees, who performed miracles each day and would be remembered for it.
“Up until a little more than a year ago, this day would not have been possible. A lot of work was put in to upgrade the Delimara plant.”
Enemalta will not remain a millstone but will be the motor powering a better economy and a cleaner environment. After the plant is dismantled, the government will aim to transform the area into a hub of regeneration, hopefully seeing the property in Marsa revalued.
Marsa power station employees yesterday movingly described their sense of loss, looking back at a place that saw suffering, tears, prayers and much head-scratching. Generation officer Joseph Zahra spoke of the risks involved with the place, remembering the time a circuit breaker exploded, fortunately without causing grievous injuries to the employees.
“Boilers are not the loveliest places to work in – it’s full of noise and intense heat. And the boilers did not only burn with the heat of fire. They burned with responsibility. Because if something went wrong, if they fumed or went off, the entire country would know,” he said.