'No jobs to be lost at Enemalta' - Tonio Fenech

The PN this evening held a Q&A session with Enemalta employees in order to allay their fears over their future employment.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and finance minister Tonio Fenech fielded the questions.

The Labour Party's energy proposals are potentially very damaging to the country according to the Prime Minister.

Tonio Fenech categorically ruled out relying on the private sector for power generation.

"Our country's small size means that the generation of electricity should be in the government's hands. The PL's plan endangers jobs. It accelerates the closing of the Delimara plant, putting a question mark over the amount of staff needed," according to Fenech.

Elaborating on the PN's own plan for Marsa Fenech said, "When the Marsa plant is switched off, there will be a long period of decommissioning. The government is also going to keep a portion of the plant in reserve in case of national emergencies."

"People will be posted to the new plant, as well as on distribution and decommissioning of the Marsa plant. No jobs will be lost thanks to the PN's plan," Fenech said.

The floor was then opened to questions, most of which were answered by Tonio Fenech.

Responding to quizzing over the new power plant and the distribution of energy, Fenech said, "When the new plant was being built, it fell exclusively under the remit of BWSC. This is why Enemalta workers were not allowed on site. It was a contractual obligation. Should anything go wrong, as it did with the turbine, there would be no doubts over who was responsible for the problem."

"We have a derogation on the liberalisation of power distribution. This ensures that Enemalta's monopoly on distribution will be retained. The sector open for competition is in the generation of power."

One worker alluded to corruption in the setting of pay scales at Enemalta. Fenech challenged the worker to come forward and report his allegations to the relevant authorities, in return for "protection."

Fenech clarified that the interconnector will not constantly supply 70% of Malta's energy needs

"The use of the interconnector will be varied according to how competitive prices are at different times of the day. This will ensure an energy mix sourced from both local generation and the interconnector."

"Under the PL's proposal Delimara will not be used as the government will be contractually obliged to purchase the bulk of its energy from the private sector. With the interconnector there will be a lot of redundant capacity under their plan," Fenech said.