Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi said today that apart from the fuel price cuts in January, he is working with Enemed for further cuts in the price of petrol and diesel for the April-June period.
Speaking in parliament, he said petrol was on average 11c cheaper in Malta last year compared to the EU average while diesel was about the same price. The government, he said, wanted price stability but he was working for further cuts in April.
ELECTRICITY GENERATION FROM GAS IN THE SUMMER
Dr Mizzi also said that works on the new gas power station and the conversion of the BWSC plant to gas are on schedule for generation to start in the summer.
The works, he said, were well in hand onshore and offshore where the floating gassification ship will be moored. The ship is currently in a shipyard in Singapore for retrofitting, including the fitting of more safety fixtures.
This project, he said, would see emissions drop by a million tons of CO2.
The EU, he said, was funding a second, more detailed study on the route of a gas pipeline from Gela to Malta that would eventually replace the gassification unit.
NEW POWER STATION NEEDED
Dr Mizzi stressed that Malta needs the new gas power station, Indeed, even more power generation facilities would be needed by 2030.
The building of the new power station (known as Delimara 4) would mean that Marsa could be closed (it is currently on cold stand-by).
Delimara 1 could also be closed down and its high chimney dismantled. Delimara II would be on standby.
Both Delimara I and Delimara II were expensive to run and maintain, and retaining them instead of building the new power station would mean higher tariffs, Dr Mizzi said.
TARIFFS
On the power tariffs, he said they were based on a seven-year plan. Enemalta, he said, was absorbing losses made in the past and basing its tariffs on a mix including renewable energy, the power stations and the interconnector.
He said the interconnector was an important element of the mix, but its use varied according to availability in Sicily, and the price per unit varied from 4c to 18c.
Costs from the gas power station would be about 6c7 to 6c9 for the first five years. They would then be adjusted according to a market-based formula based on a percentage of the oil price. The availability of a gas pipeline would then change the equation again.