Danish power plant supplier BWSC has declined to comment on the dispute with Enemalta after the Delimara power station extension was shut down.

We will only talk directly to Enemalta

BWSC chief executive officer Anders Heine Jensen yesterday told The Times his company would not comment on any issues related to the contractual arrangement with Enemalta.

“BWSC has a contract with Enemalta and this is the ruling document between us. We will only talk directly to Enemalta,” he said when asked about the most recent controversy.

Enemalta has refused to accept what it describes as “a preliminary report” on a faulty steam turbine that had to be repaired.

The corporation said it expected BWSC to hand over “a full report” on what caused last month’s problem that delayed the handing over process.

The turbine was reinstalled after being repaired in the UK but test runs were stopped when Enemalta insisted it wanted a more detailed report of the damage and its cause from BWSC.

The energy company said it shut down the extension as a precautionary measure until it received the requested information from BWSC.

This means the Delimara extension, a crucial cog in the Government’s energy plans, will not be commissioned for the time being and is not supplying electricity to the grid.

Since the steam turbine incident Enemalta has had to switch on parts of the aged Marsa power plant to supply electricity, leading to higher EU fines.

The Marsa plant should have closed down last year when it reached the allowable limit of operation imposed by the EU.

However, delays in the Delimara extension – which was due to be handed over to the Government in October – and the cable to Sicily have necessitated its continued use.

Enemalta has not given a timeframe by when it expects to take over the extension following the latest dispute with BWSC.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com