The need to ensure a stable power supply for the country is dictated not only by an increasingly affluent society but also by the economic imperative. Ensuring that the air we breathe does not pose a hazard to our health is equally important. In this regard, one should note that our score on the air quality index is still low.

In this context, the need for a stable energy supply cannot be challenged. What can be challenged is the technology being planned to ensure this supply. It is not enough to ensure that the quality of our air does not get worse; it is essential that the technology used guarantees that there are no harmful effects on people's health and well-being.

The main reason cited for the choice to go for heavy fuel oil is economic expedience. I find this a very short-sighted analysis and makes me doubt whether all factors have been considered. For example: how much does it cost to dispose of the tonnes of waste generated by this technology? What are its maintenance costs (especially to restart after a downtime), and how will it affect our health, considering the numerous respiratory problems which already hit the southern area?

It is worth pointing out that heavy fuel is one of the last fractions to be obtained from fractional distillation of crude, and is thus a more concentrated concoction of heavy metals and other substances which are hazardous to health. We have been told that filtration systems will be in place, but going by past experience, I do not have faith in this promise.

I am still not convinced that if all factors are considered, the higher cost of cleaner technology will not be offset by the costs of dealing with these collateral problems.

I am not proposing extravagant alternatives such as building a power station elsewhere, although there is much to say on the original choice which has tarnished the beauty of a once picturesque village, the only real fishing village in the whole of Malta and one of the few remaining leisure areas for those who live in the already heavily industrialised south and a tourist attraction in its own right.

Luckily, some of the charm still remains; let us not destroy it altogether. So much for Vision 2015 which envisions tourism as one of its main pillars.

We have been told that the system makes allowance for us to convert to sources other than heavy oil. My reply is this: why must we always set off on the wrong foot?

I think the government showed courage when it decided not to bulldoze ahead with its decision on certain issues like the proposed golf course. Will this not be the case for the energy source to be used in the extension of the Delimara power station?