Comments on: Konrad Mizzi/Joseph Muscat agree to buy Electrogas power station from owners in case of European Commission veto

By: devj8

devj8 — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 08:17:00 +0000

In reply to Antoine Vella. I fully agree with you, Antoine, but then that would not populate their Panama companies with stash.

By: Jozef

Jozef — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 23:43:00 +0000

And so it comes apart. They must go.

By: Rumplestiltskin

Rumplestiltskin — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 20:40:00 +0000

In reply to Gorg. It was the Finance Minister, Edward Scicluna, who had made the statement that if they give all the details of the deal the economy could be threatened- or words to that effect. At the time I thought that was the most outrageous and damning statement a Finance Minister could make. Yet it seemed to slide off the consciousness of the population like water off a duck's back. Bizarre!

By: Antoine Vella

Antoine Vella — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 20:15:00 +0000

The first thing that comes to mind is this: if they are willing to buy the power station, why wasn’t it built by the government in the first place?

By: jacks

jacks — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 20:03:00 +0000

The number of employees taken out of Enemalta Corporation and put on the public payroll elsewhere is 1,500. At an average cost of minimum 20K per person that’s roughly 30 million euros per year.

With an average employability of 10 years that’s 300 million euros. So with this deal with China, the government has just covered the wages for those extra 1,500 on the payroll instead of making them redundant.

One might be tempted to agree with this since the expense was covered. But here’s the thing. We have lost control over how we price electricity and that’s when the price of fuel is projected to remain low for at least ten years.

Some may not be aware of the shale revolution. The minute the price of oil goes 60 and over the Americans are just going to open the taps back on.

Oil may go back to $80 but eventually the market would be flooded again and the price will crash down to $25. In other words you may say oil price has become finally stable or at worst will operate within a predictable range.

The Nationalist Party was simply unlucky that the Saudis decided to stop sacrificing market share in exchange of a higher price in 2014.

If I was superstitious I would say Dr Muscat & Co have a horse shoe up where the sun does not shine.

Those 1500 jobs saved would very probably translate to 7,500 votes if one considers immediate family alone. Dr Muscat had been clear that he was not interested in going further than 10 years anyway. So in other words he would not only not have solved the energy problem but he will lump anyone who came after him with a double whammy. An energy producer that is grossly inefficient without the option of lowering prices.

By: Kelinu

Kelinu — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 19:51:00 +0000

What’s new about this. This was crystal clear from the day they announced the SSA and the guarantees. What would be interesting to know is the price of the shares. That is why the agreement is being kept secret.

By: David Spiteri

David Spiteri — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 19:50:00 +0000

This is an additional debt of more than a million euro around each and every citizen’s neck.

By: Gorg

Gorg — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 19:06:00 +0000

Which is why then that, some while back, Joseph Muscat had said that publication of the power station contract – or was it the €380 million agreement providing security back-up for the guarantee issued by Bank of Valletta to Electrogas – will put the national economy in disarray.

Terrific negotiator our Konrad, flogging the new, efficient, and financially viable BWSC power station to China for €300 million, and undertaking to buy up an incomplete, superfluous gas-fuelled power station with no gas supply infrastructure for €450 million with money that government does not have.

By: RF

RF — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 18:46:00 +0000

It must have been all planned beforehand. Inserting conditions in the security of supply agreement that are unacceptable to the European Commission so that millions of euros can be handed over to friendly companies making up Electrogas Malta Ltd and into secret Panama companies for an unnecessary power plant.

By: anthony

anthony — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 18:42:00 +0000

The whole power station agreement (the little we know) is a sham and a textbook exercise in corruption. The mind boggles at the spectacle if it ever had to be made public in its entirety.
It is no wonder that the brokerage fees necessitated the opening of secret bank accounts across the planet.