Perhaps Tony Zahra and his MHRA might now like to tell us what they think about night tariffs
Hotels, bars, restaurants, nightclubs – they all consume HUGE amounts of electricity at night.
So….does Tony Zahra think this a better plan than building a whacking great EUR600 million power station, full LNG terminal and two vast storage tanks for gas to give him (because wannabe finance minister Edward Scicluna is a director of his hotel company and so he believes him) a 25% discount on his electricity bills?
The trouble is that he’s already thrown himself behind Labour (precisely because of Edward Scicluna) and taken the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association with him by default or by association.
This when Malta has just had its top-record year in tourism – under boring old Lawrence Gonzi and the corrupt and evil PN.
U halluna, tridux.
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These grotesque carnival clowns are only now uncovering their masks to show what they are made of. Shame on them. How is it possible that these managed to wriggle their way into those posts?
[Daphne – Because people with even poorer judgement than theirs voted for them. Imagine the reasoning behind sending an anti-EU politician to be your representative in the European Parliament.]
The MHRA and its committee of hoteliers have always been a strong lobby group with the Malta Tourism Authority and Nationalist government. They always just look at the interest of their pockets and make it seem as if they are the sole drivers of the economy.
I agree that it’s healthy to lobby – but towards sustainable and constructive plans and not to decrease their utility bills to increase their profits while causing harm to the economy in general.
If such tariffs are reduced then any government is discriminating against other businesses which also consume large amounts of water and electricity.
[Daphne – The night tariff will apply across the board, to everyone, including homes.]
It IS in their interest to go after the PN’s model.
Upmarket travellers have taken to rate the energy efficiency of buildings lately. It’s fashionable to be eco-conscious.
.
The product has to make explicit its core values, a bit like having sweeteners and staff who know which food could have traces of nuts.
The PN’s allowing them to set the design pace. Boutique hotels? This is what it’s all about. Scatter cushions come later.
Yes agreed – I was referring to the MHRA’s constant request and lobbying that they want lower rates for hotels.
[Daphne – OK, understood. Lobbying for special concessions, as though no other business uses water and electricity.]
Maltastar “The Prime Minister said that there will be an introduction of a night tariff which will have a saving of between 7% and 26%, through this tariff will not apply between the daily hours of 6am and 10pm”.
That is why it is called a NIGHT TARIFF, you idiots.
Each time I think we’ve reached rock bottom, a new chasm opens up.
I give up. Someone tell them they don’t have to remain up to save money.
That’s it’s the appliances which consume most energy.
That AC’s work best when the fabric of the building is cooled gradually.
That Malta taghna lkoll means remembering to set a timer before going to bed.
In their energy proposal, Labour said that two gas storage tanks are needed . That is not true. The LNG terminal will need at least three.
One must be kept empty just in case another one develops serious damage. It’s a ‘spare’.
There must always be one spare and kept empty just in case something goes wrong with the one in use.
LNG is not like a steam boiler that if something goes out of control the safety valves open and steam comes out.
In the case of LNG very low temperature liquid fuel comes out which expands very rapidly and will immeadiately catch fire with disastrous results.
Safety is not something to ignore. And where is Konrad Mizzi?
Joseph Muscat is the other one. And it’s always empty.
Perhaps Toni Zahra would like to read this,
http://www.nrwinvest.com/Press/Presse_Archive/2009/North_Rhine-Westphalia__Europe_s_leading_energy_region/index.php
Trade, investment, research centers, continuous collaboration with Japanese research institutions.
That translates into repeat visits all year round, conferences and the possibility to rebrand into new markets.
Good for the shoulder months. Do people like Zahra realise what’s going on, or does he intend to stick to the 60’s sun and sea model?
I hope that some of the fellows – I suppose the great majority are “men” – members of MHRA can use their grey cells and not be taken for a ride.
The gas pipe line is the best option and will lower energy bills for everybody not just hoteliers. It will be operational in 2014, is eco-friendly and much less dangerous or costly.
So why lobby for the PL pie in the sky which might turn into a bomb in the sky?
Perhaps your hotels are nowhere within the two-km risk boundary, so it’s OK.
By golly…so many people will begin taking showers at 2 am…and waking up in the small hours to put on the washing machine. But then again, how is this night tariff (or, in the PM’s own words, this “price reduction”), going to be financed?
[Daphne – ‘Waking up in the small hours to put on the washing machine’. Spoken like a middle-aged man who has never used one because his wife takes care of all that. 1. Washing machines have timers. 2. It’s common practice to switch on the washing-machine before going to bed, to find the wash ready to be pinned out first thing in the morning. You don’t actually have to SIT WITH a washing machine, you know. They’ve been automatic for yonks.]
Hilarious, Albert. I didn’t think people like you still existed. Apparently, they’re all in the Mile End vicinity.
It’s the price from the grid which is lower, Albert.
Don’t be silly.
I saw your Chris Cilia doing the same on ONE yesterday, deliberately misquoting ENI.
‘Kienu se jaghtuna pipeline b’xejn’.
False.
ENI offered to finance the project, in other words provide the loan. It proved unaffordable. Tonio Fenech published all the reports.
I don’t understand why Labour expects me to join the muviment when all I see is this degeneration in spirit.
Lies and their exercise aren’t a part of me.
They want you to join “Il-Muvument tal-injoranti”.
“Injoranti” in my case means people who do not know.
Uninformed sort of.
Empower yourselves with knowledge and you won’t need to vote Labour.
Let me put on my engineer’s hard hat here.
Night tariffs are an excellent way to reduce peak demand.
The price reduction will largely be financed by the increased efficiency of our electricity production plants.
At present, they usually run at a fraction of their peak capacity, so all that capital is just lying there, unused until either 1) peak demand increases or 2) average energy use increases (which it will, because, for one thing, Malta’s population is increasing).
Rather than build new plants, we can distribute the load more evenly across the existing plants.
Hence night tariffs.
Does that answer your question?
Albert, what about when we had to wake up in the middle of the night to fill buckets of water, round Sliema way, under your glorious Labour government?
Fqajtu!
Like.
You could leave your water heater on at night so you can have a hot shower in the morning.
I’ve done it for years.
Albert, please get real, you never lived outside Malta for sure.
Please read this (copied from the internet):
“Newer models of dishwashers and laundry machines offer shorter cycles or even delayed or timed starts for more convenience. (“Energy-saver,” “light” and “short-wash” cycles typically use less water and save energy, also, according to Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency.)”
Why do you think people in rich Canada are offered these appliances with timed starts and shorter cycles?
For your benefit, it is imperative to keep abreast with modern technology, because you can save a lot of money.
Why do you think washing machines have a timed start? At home, we time the washing-machine so that it finishes the cycle before we go to work, so that they can be brought out immediately, because that stops them creasing too much.
This is how it is done.
Cycle time of machine 1hr 20min and you want your wash by 06.00 , so at 21.00 you time your machine to start at 04.30 which works out at 7hrs 40mins on the timer. No rocket science.
Why is electricity cheaper in mainland Europe during off-peak hours?
Power stations in Europe are ginormous by Maltese standards. Their smallest generators are bigger than our two power stations combined. Big power stations can’t have the luxury of starting and stopping their engines like we have with the new BWSC plant at Delimara, which have short starting times.
Let’s assume that at present Malta needs 60 MW more power during the night, so at Delimara they start one 70MW (BWSC) generator and we’re covered, with 10 MW excess/extra/wasted power.
Now picture the same scenario in mainland Europe. They have to keep their 300MW generators to maintain the 60MW needed. This results in 240MW of excess power which is not being tapped.
So they offer cheaper rates to encourage consumption of this excess electricity while avoiding that load during peak times when industry is working at full blast.
At present Malta’s reverse osmosis plants are being run during these off-peak periods and switched off during peak time.
L-ghaqal tal-gvern ta’ Gonzi dak (sorry, but I just can’t resist that barb).
Ideally the graph of load against time for a power station would be a straight horizontal line.
I hope I have given you a clear, logical explanation.
He doesn’t have to go on the net, pop into the nearest Crosscraft is all it takes.
AAA, AAA+++ and what have you, and they still don’t get it.
You cannot really turn on 70MW BSCS engine given that the engines are 17.1MW each.
@ A Attard: OK read 15 Mw instead of 60 and read 17.1Mw instead of 70.
With your correction my explanation makes even more sense.
Before the BWSC plant started we had to keep bigger inefficient generators running instead of smaller ones (17.1Mw). In Italy they have to leave big generators running for a very small load (15 Mw).
BTW : Mw means 1,000,000 watts .
Important also is that there will be less hum in the night near the power station and zero emissions with the interconnector.
Marsa PS won’t be there, it will be like ground zero in 2014.
Albert, as for your showers, you can install a solar water heater, or PVs. The government has offered nice investment subsidies on both, and it is planning to continue to do so.
So you can continue to have your shower at any time of day.
Here you go Albert, cause we know that Labour still live in the Middle Ages:
http://www.mr-skill.co.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Mr-Skill-Electrical-Timer.jpg
Albert, you seem to have grown quite a big chunk of concrete between your ears during the last five years.
Low night tariffs can be used to heat water, use the washing machine and tumble driers at night using a timer to start the wash at 10pm, factories that have high electrical energy-consuming equipment can shift their production into the night, affording to pay night overtime, more money for the workers.
Refrigeration will cost that much less during the night, reducing energy costs to the food industry, air conditioning costs during those hot humid nights will also cost less.
You only have to take the opportunities that these night tariffs bring, but then if you are one of Joseph’s suldati ta l-azzar, just keep rusting away.
Same goes for dishwashers, swimming-pool pumps and other devices that can possibly be put on a timer.
I have been using a timer for my electric water heater for the past 5 years – basically put it on at around 4 am till 6 am, and we have hot water for showers all day long.
Albert Farrugia, you have forgotten that night tariffs were promised by Joseph Muscat.
He must have forgotten too.
Albert – you’ve really outdone yourself with this one. Excellent sir, bravo. Bravo!
You really can’t be serious Albert.
Dishwashers, washing machines, geysers, swimming pool pumps can all be made to work at night using timers.
Airconditioners in bedrooms work at night.
And 10pm is not so late. Many people sleep at around midnight or even later.
So they will be still watching tv, using their computer, and with their lights on.
But if you want to start having showers at 2am to economise more, it’s up to you.
Unfortunately there are still many people who uninformed and stupid like you, in Malta. That is why the PL still has a large number of followers.
If Maltese people were really educated, PN would get at least 90% of the votes and the PL would hardly get any at all.
It seems Albert Farrugia is still confused about the benefits of the interconnector.
If Enemalta buys electricity cheaper during the night by means of the interconnector, does this require a high IQ to realise that Enemalta will then be in a position to offer electricity at a cheaper rate during the night?
A more obvious benefit of the night rates which escaped Mr Farrugia’s imagination would be switching on the a/c during the hot and humid summer nights to be able to sleep well.
The benefits are endless, and this thanks to the Nationalist Party’s plan for an interconnector.
You’re asking too much of certain minds that work one way.
Labour’s doing its bloody best to misinform those who actually follow its media.
Sometimes I think they themselves are confused, one just can’t contradict factual figures, expecting it to go unnoticed.
If the interconnector can give us 200MW, that’s their equivalent power station rendered useless. Which it will.
Labour want to reduce its potential to 40%, whereas the PN want to go for 75%, this in terms of nationwide supply.
Financially speaking, that will make or break Enemalta.
Either Konrad is incredibly stupid, or he’s dangerously pig-headed.
Our Albert can’t do multitasking – one thing at a time.
Not only automatic washing machines can be programmed during the night but also air conditioners.
As far as I remember, Tony Zahra does not own a Hotel, but a travel agency. How did he get there?
[Daphne – He does own a hotel.]
Factories working on three shifts, like ST MIcroelectronics, Playmobil, John Crane, and so on, use electricity at night.
The blast freezing of poultry can be done at night.
Households need heating and cooling at night, and appliances like tumbledryers, washing-machines and dishwashers can be run at night. Water-heaters (for those who don’t have solar panels) can be timed to run at night and off again during the day.
Then there are hotels, airports, hospitals, newspaper printing-presses – all of these are busy at night.
I do not recollect a MHRA President so political as Tony Zahra. What astounds me is that none of the MHRA members has raised a finger against his politically biased statements in the media, including his sarcastic comment that we need to get back the Queen and the Pope to get some roads done – as if his brother did not get his fair share of roads when CHOGM took place, and the Queen and her entourage also stayed at his brother’s hotel.
If one invests in a washing machine with a Hot & Cold water inlet, it can be connected to a solar water heater system.
This bypasses the appliances heater kicking in.
In the event that the water does not match the temperature setting, the machine’s sensor switches on the heater or takes in cold water to the required setting.
This is just one of the eco benefits of this type of machine.
Tony Zahra is one of the owners of the San Antonio hotel in Qawra, which is currently constructing an extension.
So, the bright boys at the Mile End didn’t think of this idea of lowering the tariffs without incurring any expenses.
To give us lower tariffs (it claims) Labour has to incur a capital expense of 600 million Euro. Incredible, and they want us to trust them with the running of the country.
It seems everyone (or most) are missing an important fact. Night rates are already in place and have been for some years for businesses. What is being proposed its to extend it also to households.
Look at the last two tables on this page:
http://www.enemalta.com.mt/index.aspx?cat=2&art=5&art1=9
The reason it is only applicable to businesses today is that it needs ‘smart meters’ to be installed in every household before they can give the service to even one (it would be unfair if they xcluded those who haven;t got it yet) whereas most industrial users have always had meters capable of metering differently at different time periods, and those who haven’t can have it installed on request without creating a huge backlog as domestic users would if such an option were suddenly to be offerred.
Note that unlike what some are saying there is no dependence on the interconnector, gas, new power station or anything of the sort to implement night rates. The meters are the only relevant thing.
To hell with Tony Zahra, and his former buddy Philip Rizzo for that matter. Perhaps they’d like to rekindle the camaraderie they shared in the Riza years, and those engaging board meetings.
Let’s hope nobody draws a gun this time around.
Of course! Philip RIzzo/Tony ZAhra – RIZA Aparthotel, Bugibba. I had forgotten about the connection.
Night tariffs. So now dear Daphne start washing clothes at midnight and warm water during the night to wash you hair in the morning or perhaps start blogging during the night too . What a gaff. I thought he said they can’t be lowered.
[Daphne – I have washed clothes at night for years, Luigi. That’s because I don’t wash them myself. A machine does. Maybe you come from a household where your mother spends all morning babysitting the machine, rushing to remove the clothes immediately the cycle finishes, in case – what, they suffocate? We have solar panels to heat all the water we use. I invariably blog at night (hadn’t you noticed?). I have too many other things to catch up with in the day.]
My point was that hotels should now shift all their business during the night because electricity cost per unit is so expensive in the morning. If demand shifts during the night such that we have a peak there as well then we are back to square one and thus tariffs have to increase again.
Another point is that the Prime Minister is now controlling our lives, like a dictator. Instead of having a bureaucrat planning how much electricity we should have thus rationing on it because we have a shortage, we will have to start consuming in the night because the power station is not efficient. And whose fault is that? Of course of the bureaucrats who decided to stay dependent on heavy fuel oil. I bet you don’t have an answer to this.
[Daphne – No, I’m afraid I don’t, because I espouse liberal principles. If I did not, then I would say that people with a low IQ should not be permitted to marry other people with a low IQ, because fairness dictates that children should be given a 50% fighting chance at least.]
Timer consumes electricity as well
[Daphne – What a stupid comment.]
So does this comment. So switch off your computer and go out and play.
I am on my iPhone Baxxter which happens to be very efficient in battery charging.
Luigi you’re obviously a sucker for punishment. Baxxter has offered you some very sound advice here.
Why are people with VERY low IQ entitled a vote?
Luigi, did you have to stop watching Cartoon Channel and put down your bottle before you thought up this comment?
People like Tony Zahra and Philip Rizzo are now laggards in their respective field of business, and envy comes out because they see their competitors have moved on and expanded their business a multiple times.
Has Tony Zahra’s business gone bad during these last years? He has been barking on profit drops while official statistics prove him wrong for some time now.
I used to ask myself what his real agenda is, what is he aiming at?
Recently it has transpired that Edward Scicluna is or was his financial advisor and sits on his company’s board of directors.
Scicluna is contesting the general elections on the PL ticket and therefore Mr. Zahra seeks to please him by pushing forward the Professor’s political agenda that is belittling the PN government’s unprecedented successes in tourism.
He even went overboard by praising the PL energy proposals which have been torn to shreds by several experts.
The likes of Luigi and Albert make me question Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.
hah aha..freaking right!