Comments on: A government brought down and a political party funded to the tune of millions, so that private individuals can take over Malta’s electricity supply

By: Gahan

Gahan — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 21:31:11 +0000

“Regarding the possibility of the government investing, unfortunately there is simply too much debt loaded on the existing utility which the government has to guarantee that the interest rates will probably not be that great and indirectly cause the overall cost of ownership to increase when compared to a higher credit rated corporate.”

Who will pay the debts? Debt is “Taghna Lkoll”. It should be the end users and not the taxpayers who should pay for this debt. I expect a “mhux xorta?” comment.

If it is the same let the consumers pay for the debts. Somehow Enemalta has to fund its debts. It will do that through transmission of the electricity, and the customer will end up back at square one.

This is just not on. The contractor generates electricity, Enemalta is made to buy all of the generated electricity by the contractor, which transmits it at its own expense and in the meantime uses 20% of the Sicily-Malta cable for which it paid some €200 million.

If this is not crazy then it must be gross barefaced corruption.

By: Gahan

Gahan — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:05:55 +0000

In reply to Rudolph Gaerty.

If LNG leaks it expands 60 times its volume and then explodes.Engineers build computer models to predict this scenario in a risk assessment.

If oil leaks there’s the containment tank which is a purposely built outer concrete wall to hold all the volume of the steel tank and oil does not explode but it burns. Not to mention the fire fighting systems which are strategically placed to put out the fire with an abundant supply of seawater.

“Time will tell” : If there’s an LNG leak in Marsaxlokk Bay we won’t have the “time to tell”, it will be too late.

LNG terminals are installed far away from built up areas.

Will an artificial island do the trick?

I think that this is a case of “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”.

By: Rudolph Gaerty

Rudolph Gaerty — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:54:06 +0000

Many comments here and clearly not appearing to come from sources conversant with the subject and probably regurgitating pieces of misinformation. Europe is a fully liberalized market and EEX and IPEX prices are clearly lower than those in Malta and this is despite the so called monopolies having been privatized and the market opened up to private sector investment. In the process millions have been made by companies offering electricity cheaper than our state owned monopoly. Why? Because a private company cannot afford to fail! A well managed service provider that is a specialist can very often give you a better deal due to economies of scale and a management team that is highly incentivized to deliver. I guess the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Time will tell. Regarding environmental concerns the impact of a well designed LNG terminal and power plant compared to what their currently is would be not far different to having an ant walk on your toe as opposed to an elephant stepping on it. Quite simply the impact on power production is so massively reduced and the LNG related impact can be practically negligible meaning the over-all result is far more environmentally friendly. As much as 60% of our CO2 footprint could be eradicated within 2 years and more importantly leaving us room for growth equal to almost 100% of current power generation. Whereas with the current HFO scenario we are at the limit already. Regarding the LNG terminal/ container terminal risks. THe existing fuel tanks at delimara represent the same risk as the LNg storage. A quick look on google earth will clearly show you a massive fuel storage depot adjacent to the freeport so I can assure you there are no additional risk premia to be paid. having said that, knowing how insurance companies think, they might try to increase them. Regarding the possibility of the government investing, unfortunately there is simply too much debt loaded on the existing utility which the government has to guarantee that the interest rates will probably not be that great and indirectly cause the overall cost of ownership to increase when compared to a higher credit rated corporate. in addition the government guaranteeing such debt could lead to europe declaring such guarantees as part of the debt to gdp ratios. We cannot afford that since we are at the limit already. As they say, beggars cannot be choosers, however this could be a blessing in disguise. I am confident that for a change within 2 years, Enemalta will be in a position to make money on all units sold even at lower rates compared to current. Something it has failed to do for over 12 years leaving it requiring the man in the street to subsidize the utility bills of large companies operating in Malta. As they say, time will tell.

By: Martin Felice

Martin Felice — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:20:36 +0000

Totally scandalous.

By: etil

etil — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:21:45 +0000

In reply to ciccio. Geisha is Japanese

By: etil

etil — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:20:39 +0000

In reply to Election Mode. Ah but daily and continuous dosage of media coverage won them the elections.

By: etil

etil — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:20:00 +0000

In reply to P Shaw. Do not be surprised after all Malta Taghhom (il Laburisii) lkoll.

By: etil

etil — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:18:21 +0000

In reply to mister. The silence of the residents of Birzebbugia and Marsaxlokk is ominous.

By: admin

admin — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:06:04 +0000

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22119236

By: Zunzana

Zunzana — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 06:28:08 +0000

@ P.Camilleri: I agree with you 100%. I have always maintained that this private company might keep the energy tariffs low for the first ten years.

However, on termination of this period, this company will be holding Malta by the balls and will demand exorbitant tariffs to make up for the loss of revenue made in the first ten years.