Nationalist MP Franco Debono this evening urged the governemnt to ensure that the power station extension operated on gasoil, rather than heavy fuel oil, as quickly as possible.
Speaking in Parliament, Dr Debono said Malta needed energy security, as much as it needed to safeguard the environment.
The audtor's report, he said, clearly showed that some things could have been carried out differently.
For example, the auditor had said that once emission thresholds had been changed by law, it would have been better had the tendering process been restarted.
The auditor also spoke about Enemalta having been placed at risk because prototype equipment had been selected. He had pointed to administrative shortcomings, rather than irregularities. He also said he found no hard evidence of corruption.
Suspicion, however strong, remained just that unless it was proved, Dr Debono said.
The auditor had not found any violation of the laws which would annul the contract. But he said that some things could have been handled differently.
Apart from the risk of having selected prototype equipment, Dr Debono said, another risk for Malta was of not having the generating capacity it needed to sustain the economy.
It would have been great had Malta been able to opt for a gas-firing power station, but this would require a huge infrastructure, Dr Debono said,
His view was that Malta should have these facilities and, if possible, Mata should make up for lost ground. Malta also needed to work faster on alternative sources of energy.
The Nationalist MP said that in view of the findings of the auditor and the need for energy security, he wanted to appeal to the government to, as quickly as possible, revert to gas oil, so as safeguard the environment and public health. This was in line with the views of many environmental NGOs and Prof Edward Mallia, particularly in comments he wrote today on timesofmalta.com
This option, Dr Debono said, should be considered, especially if the power station extension came close to reaching the maximum emissions threshold.
At the same time, Malta should set up the infrastructure to operate the power station with gas.
Every measure should also be taken to improve the infrastructure and improve the environment in the localities of the south, to compensate for the environmental deficit suffered as a result of the industrialisation of the zone.
Mepa, he stressed, should impose rigorous environmental conditions to neutralise the impact of the power station on the surrounding air and the sea and to ensure that all EU directives were observed.
It was also essential that the spare parts agreement was negotiated in a way which compensated for shortcomings in the procurement contract as pointed out by the auditor, Dr Debono said.