Labour MP Marlene Pullicino said there could be no talk of energy without taking into account climate change and how to combat its effects on Malta. If the goal of reducing global warming by 2ºC was to be achieved, current levels of emissions must be reduced by 30 per cent by 2020. A lot would depend on what would happen at Copenhagen for the start, albeit late, of meaningful action.

In the face of all this, what mattered most was how effective Malta's systems could be, and what steps it took to conform to European standards. One of these steps had to be the serious use of alternative energy.

Ageing machinery was taking its toll on Enemalta's generation capacity, especially during times of peak demand which was calculated at three per cent over peak capacity, summer and winter. It made one shudder to think of what would happen if one of the corporation's major units collapsed in summer, with huge parts of the islands left without electricity. And this at a time when, besides Mater Dei Hospital, energy-hungry mega-projects had not yet come on stream.

Dr Pullicino said it was very telling that over the past 20 years, huge investments had been made in distribution but not in generation. The government was saying that the situation would become much better with the commissioning of new turbines for Delimara power station in 2012, but with the government's track record of plans and promises, such things would be believed only when they were seen.

Talks had long been going on among Enemalta, the Malta Resources Authority and Mepa about the corporation's obligations towards the environment. In the meantime, both Marsa and Delimara power stations needed major upgrades to help along the cause of the environment. The recent controversy over the choice of new equipment for Delimara had again brought up the importance of proper balance in servicing the country's needs without incurring major expense on maintenance.

Dr Pullicino said it was to be hoped that the long-bandied connection to the electricity grid in Sicily and the advent of harnessing alternative energy sources would not keep being postponed.

It was already much too late.

Even besides the connection to Sicily, any new implant of alternative energy would have to create 200 MW.

Malta would also need a guaranteed supply of gas if the Delimara power station should ever be converted to gas.

One problem with having a cable connecting Malta to Sicily would be repairs, which could take months.

This meant that for security of supplies there must be a second cable link, which would also give the advantage of enabling the servicing of alternative energy sources.

Dr Pullicino said the government's lack of commitment to the provision of alternative energy was all too evident. Yet Malta must be in a position to produce an appreciable portion of such alternative energy at home if it was ever to reduce its over-dependence on fossil fuel.

One example of this was the way in which windfarms had almost been decided on in 2008, but now everything seemed to have changed again, even their planned location.

This was another example of the government's direction having turned to imagination, just like other past promises.

On the construction of new structures, Dr Pullicino said certain sizes of development must have their own sources of alternative, renewable energy, such as solar, and water storage. It was a pity that neither Mater Dei Hospital nor the Tigné project had been imposed with such necessary measures in order to relieve the load on Enemalta.

If only Malta had wanted to look around at age-old ways of saving energy, it would only have had to look at old Maltese homes, the majority of which had long been well insulated, making full use of natural light and with their own independent water supplies.

If the government wanted to achieve more megawatts to reduce the load on Enemalta it must sit up and take the lead not only on technology but also on such amenities as ventilation and apertures in Maltese homes.

Dr Pullicino called on the government to implement the storm water project so that natural water would not continue finding its way into the sea.

The water and electricity tariffs had been introduced at a time of economic recession despite calls by the people, the unions and the constituted bodies for the government to refrain from implementing such an aggressive reform. Nobody said the reform was not needed, but everybody was against how and when this had been introduced.

Dr Pullicino said Enemalta needed good management and direction if it was to achieve success in present-day Malta.

To help achieve this, she tabled a 1998 report made by a former top corporation official, saying that in spite of the passage of 10 years, the report could still help to put Enemalta on a better footing than now.

Earlier, she said she was pleased at Minister Gatt's admission that things could have been done differently with the new tariffs.

The problem had never been about principles but about the method used.

If on nothing else, both sides of the House agreed about Malta being made a centre of excellence in many spheres, given the Maltese people's many and proven abilities. But unfortunately too many plans had remained plans.

One of the ways that such grandiose wishes could be achieved was by having security of energy supplies with good service and the right prices.

What was happening internationally and what was already on the horizon could wreak havoc even with the best-laid plans. European politics on a variety of issues, including climate change, the volatility of oil prices and diminishing supplies, had all made world leaders stop and re-plan.