The planned submarine electricity link between Malta and Sicily could include a gas pipeline to fire up the power station in Delimara, Communications Minister Austin Gatt suggested yesterday.
Once Malta was connected to the European grid, the government would look into the possibility of running the power station on natural gas instead of heavy fuel oil, Dr Gatt said during an international conference on fuel oil.
Malta was granted €20 million by the EU for a submarine cable link with Sicily in order to join the European electricity grid by 2012 but this was the first time the idea of a gas pipeline was mentioned publicly.
Once Malta is connected, it would no longer be dependent on just oil but could choose the type of fuel it wanted, Dr Gatt said.
The news follows an announcement that part of the new plant in Delimara would be run on heavy fuel oil. Environmental organisations had criticised the decision on the basis that this sort of fuel was more polluting.
Even the security of the energy supply through this link was questioned by the Enemalta Professional Officers' Union, which suggested that the government should launch better incentives for photovoltaic cells on households and allow the local energy authority to buy back the energy produced at a more reasonable rate.
Enemalta had replied that modern cables, installed with the adequate protection, had proven to be extremely reliable. It also said it was looking into the possibility of installing two cables, laid one kilometre apart, to ensure a constant supply should one be damaged.
Dr Gatt also announced that, by 2012, all the water and electricity meters would be completely replaced with the new smart meters as part of a €40 million project. An agreement was struck between water and electricity providers and the international IT giant IBM to supply the meters.
Malta would be the first country to be totally smart metered, he said. The new meters will enable remote and accurate meter reading, removing the need to issue estimated bills and for inspectors to inspect the meters physically.
Enemalta has started the installation of the first of 5,000 smart meters as part of a pilot project. The first equipment was installed in Swieqi.