Aqra dan l-artiklu bil-Malti.
The chaos at Enemalta is again evident, this time due to an open confrontation between Energy Minister Miriam Dalli and the newly appointed chairman of the corporation, Ryan Fava, chosen by the prime minister.
Asked by PN MP Ryan Callus to give details on the procurement of a new temporary power plant, costing taxpayers an estimated €46 million, Dalli distanced herself from the chairman’s position.
Contradicting Fava, Dalli insisted that it was not true that Enemalta did not have enough capacity to supply the island this summer.
“As we have said many times, Enemalta already has enough generation sources to furnish current and future demand,” she told parliament.
According to Miriam Dalli, Enemalta has enough generation supply
This is factually incorrect since Enemalta has less than 600MW at its disposal, excluding the interconnector.
Her statement seems to have been aimed at denting the credibility of Enemalta Chair Ryan Fava, who told the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) that Enemalta had a shortfall in generation and needed the new plant in place as soon as possible.
Peak demand reached 663MW last year.
In his letter to ERA last November – a month after his appointment – Fava did not mince his words about the crisis that Enemalta, under Dalli, somehow missed.
Explaining in detail that last summer Malta experienced a peak demand of 663 MW (megawatt), Fava told ERA that “Enemalta anticipates that the demand for summer 2024 will rise even higher and that unless the project (new temporary power plant) is commissioned by the intended date (May), that is, before the summer of 2024, it will not be able to guarantee the security of electricity supply.”
According to Enemalta’s Chair, Malta does not have enough supply for the summer.
Dalli was also asked why Enemalta chose to lease a diesel-fired plant instead of a cleaner alternative such as LNG.
She refused to answer and instead told parliament the offer issued by Enemalta “is not for a specific technology”.
This is also untrue, as Enemalta’s offer calls for a diesel-fired plant.
Miriam Dalli vs Robert Abela
In the summer of 2023, Malta suffered long power cuts, sometimes lasting days.
Prime Minister Robert Abela ordered the sacking of then-chairman Jonathan Cardona, who was appointed to the position by Dalli despite having little relevant experience in the energy sector.
In August, Dalli resisted the prime minister’s request and kept insisting The Shift’s reports of his imminent departure were false.
By October, he was gone. Cardona was replaced by Fava, the prime minister’s choice.
Just a month after his appointment, Fava wrote to ERA regarding the urgent need for a new power plant by this summer.
It seems that the internal volcano within the PL will abrupt sooner rather than later.
Thankfully it will not consist of magma or volcanic ash, but a hole load of bile and gung. Will wait and see. Keep your umbrellas handy!!!
These incompetent fools have to be sacked. You have the power to do this: don’t vote Labour at the next general election.
Without the Inter Connector, EneMalta has only 516 Mw generation Capacity and this includes the Renewables which account for 200Mw. So when it gets dark EM has only 316 Mw without the IC. In fact the Interconnector is already providing the full 225MW during peak evening hours ALREADY. So already now , because of the COLD nights , EM is providing 541 Mw. With a peak of 663MW 120 MW are missing , 70 MW generation could not be enough. IF MUSCAT / Konrad did not destroy part of the Delimara Phase 1 PS but left it for emergencies, EM situation and Malta’s Electricity supply would not be at risk today . Where is Muscat? Where is Konrad on this very risky Energy situation? The 70MW might just not be enough if any single engine in Electrogas or Shanghai Electric or what remains of Delimara 2A/2B fails.
Robert and Miriam handbagging each other provoking more blackouts. How very mature.
Who would have thought that bringing over 100,000 people from third world countries would cause the infrastructure to struggle? If only we could have foreseen such a strange and unexpected event. Ah well – gahans will vote PL anyway so roll on long hot powerless summers.
Can someone please ask whether this €46 million plant is meant to be a permanent fixture or is it transportable.
We might as well get ready for another blistering summer with no guarantees on the supply of electricity. Back to the Dark Ages of Malta…..