Enemalta’s debt ran into €840 million or €440,000 per employee, Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi told workers this evening.

The corporation’s employees gathered at the Bay Arena in St Julian’s where Dr Mizzi and Enemalta board members explained to them that the corporation’s financial situation was unsustainable and had to change.

This was because he did not want Enemalta to become another Drydocks or an Air Malta, where the turnaround would be imposed by the EU.

So a new business plan was being drawn up and this would be finalised over the next six months.

Then, teams from Shangai Electric, with which a memorandum of understanding was reached during the Prime Minister’s visit to China a few days ago, would come to review the plan and establish the amount they would be investing and the share percentage they would be getting in return.

He did not confirm the 35 per cent figure mentioned by fellow minister Edward Zammit Lewis saying that figure was hypothetical and Dr Zammit Lewis had only been giving an example of minority shareholding.

The memorandum of understanding, he said, defined principles and not amounts.

The Chinese company would however have minority shareholding and three board members. The government, he said, would keep an open channel with employees so that they could feel part of journey.

The minister said that Enemalta would be in a position to announce the preferred bidder for the new power plant in next few weeks.

EARLY RETIREMENT SCHEMES NOT EXCLUDED

Dr Mizzi renewed Labour’s pre-electoral pledge that the workers’ jobs were guaranteed but he did not exclude early retirement schemes. A good number of employees, he said, were over 50 and many others were over 55. People who retired would also not be replaced.

“We expect full flexibility from workers and they are willing to walk the walk,” he said.

He said that the workers’ expense was only a fraction of the problems the corporation was facing since it lost 11.5 per cent of the energy produced in distribution.

This ran into millions each year making the corporation’s cashflow situation alarming. Enemalta, he said, did not even have enough money to pay Government the excise duty due.

The minister is also meeting workers on duty at the Marsa and Delimara power stations to explain the situation.