Talks between Muscat and Renzi to focus on migration, energy

Italy’s Premier Matteo Renzi is coming to Malta on Thursday for official talks with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

During his first official visit to Malta since taking over his country’s leadership, Matteo Renzi will also be presiding over the inauguration of the interconnector, MaltaToday can confirm.

Talks between Renzi and Muscat are expected to focus on irregular migration, the developing situation in the Mediterranean and the energy sector.

The interconnector, connecting Malta to Sicily and joining the island to the European grid, comprises a 120-kilometre high voltage alternating current (HVAC) system capable of bidirectional flow of electrical power, transferring 200MW of electricity. In Sicily, the interconnector is linked to the Italian network at 230kV in the Terna substation in Ragusa. The submarine cable lands in Malta at Qalet Marku, Bahar ic-Caghaq, and transmits electricity to the distribution network at 132kV through Enemalta’s new terminal station at Maghtab.

Over the past weeks, Muscat informed parliament that the interconnector would become fully operational during this month, “after works fell two years behind under the PN administration”.

“I’ve only recently got confirmation that the Malta-Italy energy interconnector has finally started working, and in the next few days the link will be officially functioning,” Muscat said this morning. “This is part of our energy plan… keeping the interconnector, introduce LNG, and changing the way we think of energy.”