Tension over the grid
According to the figures given in parliament, the average Maltese household spends just around €450 a year on electricity, an extraordinarily small sum that causes me to wonder whether they are all tampering with their meters, going to bed when the chickens do, and washing themselves in cold water and their clothes by hand, also in cold water.
These pathetically small bills sound unfeasible to me. Ours is a five-person household with no air-conditioners or electric space-heaters. We cannot use them because Enemalta has not yet bothered to upgrade the electricity supply to our house, claiming instead that we must pay several thousand euros to have the upgraded supply brought a few metres down from the main road. So we are forced to be a minimum consumption household whether we like it or not, and still our bills are rather large, mainly on the basis of a clothes washing-machine that never rests, a dish-washing machine, and two bathroom boilers. And that is one reason why I regard the average consumption figures with some degree of suspicion.
And yet, despite these tiny bills – for they can only be classified as tiny, by contemporary western European standards – and the fact that an incredible 30,000 households are exempted from paying the surcharge on electricity, the news that this surcharge is to go up to 95 per cent has predictably thrown the country into a panic. There is nothing we love more than a good crisis. It is OPEC and the early 1970s all over again. The panic seemed so great then that I actually remember it, even though I was in primary school. OPEC was the word that reverberated through my childhood like Suez was to an earlier generation. My mother still laughs at the memory of a couple of women she knew, from families notorious for their thriftiness, who in the midst of the OPEC crisis walked miles from their homes to a discount food store, and walked all the way back with their heavy purchases, to score on both food and fuel savings, even though they were quite well off.
Which are these 30,000 households and how are they chosen for exemption? I imagine that it is on the basis of income, which means that the next question follows on naturally from that: do we really have 30,000 desperately poor households in Malta, which cannot even pay for their electricity? Hmmmm. It annoys those of us who pay the full surcharge whack that others are spared, allowing them to carry on spinning their washing-machines with impunity, confident in the knowledge that others will be paying their bill. Because here is the thing: for 30,000 households to pay no surcharge at all, everyone else has to pay 95 per cent. If everyone were obliged to pay their fair share of the burden, it would not have to be that high.
Another irritation is that figures on generated electricity that goes unaccounted for cannot be confirmed. How much electricity disappears every year or is stolen? We need to know, because we are apparently being made to pay for it. If inefficiency at Enemalta is cut down, we might be better off in that respect. And it is particularly annoying that news of the surcharge comes in the wake of that other piece of news that the government – for which read the people – has spent hundreds of millions of liri on trying to save the unsalvageable shipyards. If the Labour Party ever grunts on about government waste and spending again, this particular example should be rammed forcefully down its throat. It seems that Joseph Muscat, with his objections to the privatisation of the yards, wants us to waste even more millions there.
The government subsidy on electricity is costing a pretty penny, too: €37 million in the nine months between October and June. The government does not earn money through productivity; it collects money off the productive. So when the government says that “it” is subsidising the cost of electricity to the tune of €37 million in nine months, what it means is that it has collected €37 million from tax-payers and given those €37 million back to them – or to others – in the form of electricity bills that are lower than they should be. This is not a tenable situation.
If electricity has become impossibly costly because of the escalating price of oil, then somebody has to pay for it. There is no magical solution that involves the government discovering trees which grow money, sprouting alongside those other trees which grow spaghetti. In this context, “the government should do something” is a vain plea, because there is almost nothing that the government can do, except doing away with the present system that involves forcing one group of people to subsidise the electricity consumption of another group of people.
Predictably, the current crisis has drawn the natural energy obsessives out of the woodwork, with their bleating about solar power and wind energy. The logic in their arguments is as false as their knowledge of business and the bottom-line is unsound. Because the sun does not charge a fee for shining, and because the wind does not collect a consideration, then the conclusion is that the power which may be generated from these two sources is free. The huge cost of exploiting them is not factored into the equation. The brutal fact of the matter is that it costs more to produce energy by alternative means than it does to produce energy by conservative means. The capital investment is enormous, and more so because it cannot always be centralised in one public utility, leading to great wastage of resources as each household kits itself out separately. All that equipment has to be manufactured, and surprise, it is manufactured using conventional electricity taken off the grid.
The Sunday Telegraph has a rather good column by Jeff Howell, a professional builder who gives sound advice on matters to do with the construction and fitting out of homes. Last week, his column was about this subject. None of the measures proposed by the British government, to reduce electricity consumption, has ever been independently proved to save or produce more energy than that which is consumed in their manufacture, he wrote. The proposal which bothered him most was the target for one in four homes to be fitted with “solar heating equipment”. Howell has often written about the mis-selling of solar heating through myth and legend about its uses, and says that each time he receives a large and abusive postbag. Last week, he wrote: “I think it is worth spelling out once more in clear terms just why commercial solar heating systems can be such a rip-off.”
He went on to explain: “The first point to note is that (apart from in specially designed buildings with south-facing glazed areas and high thermal-mass walls, or large underground thermal storage tanks) the power of the sun cannot be stored to keep a house warm in winter. Solar energy collection using panels on the roof – that is commonly sold as solar heating – is only a method of warming the water used for showering and bathing, which constitutes a surprisingly small proportion of the total bill for most households.” In other words, you will be spending on a capital investment of several thousands of euros just to have “free” hot water in your bathroom and kitchen taps. Machines for washing clothes and dishes are outside this savings loop because they are fed with cold water directly from the main supply, which they themselves heat to the required temperature, so they have to use conventional electricity.
Even if you think the cost of installing solar panels is justified in terms of savings on hot water for baths and showers, you still have to be linked up to the grid unless you are happy to take cold showers every day during three consecutive weeks of rain and clouds in January. Solar power generated in the sunny months cannot be stored for the rainy months, and the irony of solar panels is that they are most productive when they are least needed. You do not want a hot bath in August, when your panels are churning out the hot water. You want it on a bleak day in February, when there is no sun to heat enough water for a bath.
This article is published in The Malta Independent on Sunday today.
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“Which are these 30,000 households and how are they chosen for exemption? I imagine that it is on the basis of income, which means that the next question follows on naturally from that: do we really have 30,000 desperately poor households in Malta, which cannot even pay for their electricity?”
I find it unfair on the rest of us who pay for everything we purchase through our noses. Isn’t the purchase of water and electricity the same as any other purchase of all the other essential items?
And can somebody enlighten me as to why social benefits such as children’s allowances and tax exemption on private school fees are doled out to all and sundry (those who have kids aged sixteen and under, that is), but exemption on the payment of surcharge is reserved exclusively to these 30,000 needy!? households?
Don’t you think that this smells badly of political expediency?
We do not need to build a major project to reduce the power generated from our power stations.
If only each and everyone of us who owns a cistern puts it to good use as a source of second class water ( in my opinion it is first class) we will reduce the production of RO water, which is one of the main contributors of the island’s electrical consumption.
Why do we always ask for a payback period of a solar water heater? Do we do that when we buy a normal water heater? I have a very positive experience of a Vacuum tube water heater . I installed it and feed the “old” 30 litre water heater from it . I hardly switch on the small water heater for 20-30 days in a year (an hour before using it). I converted the washing machine to take hot water also , so that I would not use its heater element (especially during summer) , I could not find one on the market even though they exist.
Energy saving lamps are cost effective when they are used in the most frequented places , I prefer the warm white 19 Watts which are equivalent to around 100 Watts. By the way, Dr Gonzi’s reasoning during election time , that if one replaces 4 lamps one will reduce the power consumption by 80% , and if one replaces another 4 lamps one will reduce the power by ANOTHER 80% , was based on false assumptions.
Let’s use solar power when we have it in abundance and harvest water and use it wisely.
Easy does it on the alternative energy front,Daphne. This is really ac ase of what’s good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander. The climatic situation in Britain is not necessarily the same as in Malta. And contrary to popular belief, you do not need direct sunlight to get the old solar panels working (in fact ,in some case, you actually need to shield them from direct sunlight) ALso it is quite wrong to state that ‘it cannot always be centralised in one public utility’. It can and its is. Extra power genrated can always be added to the grid. Even if solar panelling was only used to heat water, can you imagine the impact if all houses in Malta took that amount of usage off the electric grid. how much less fuel the power station would have to consume? This is really a case, as the Tesco ad says , of ‘every little helps’!
There is a great article about Frieberg ‘the greenest city in Germany’ in the Guardian, which covers some of these points. Here is the link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/mar/23/freiburg.germany.greenest.city
I’ve chosen it because it is a balanced commentary of the pros and cons. However there is one central point in the article and that is the need for a political will to find solutions in the first place. This will drives technology forward. What was/is missing under this government (and especially under that bully Austin Gatt) is the foresight Instead we got smugnes and the tehory that it will all sort itself out in the end. Well it didn’t and it won’t.
It was obvious we were going to reach this point, if not because of the rising price of oil then because of the Kyoto agreement. Our houses are notorious for their lack of energy conservation. We had an excuse with our old houses. But what was the excuse during the recent building boom? With land speculators making money hand over fist wouldn’t it have been to everyone’s benefit if they were asked to take an environmental attitude to the carbuncles they were building. It is usually cheaper and easier to do this at the building stage rather than afterward. This may now be a case of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted, but it would not be a bad idea for parliament to think of legistalting along these lines now. After all, judging by the look of pracvtices in the building industry, many of the current crop of building will probably be due for demolition anyway in twenty years time anyway.:)
I throughly enjoyed reading your coloumn today because it confirms that you, me and Austin Gatt do have something in common. It costs much more to produce electricity from natural resources than pay for it. And thats the reason why we dont have too many people clamouring to install panels and wind turbines on their roof. So yes, we have to question the use of natural sources of energy, because they are in the main not yet cost effective. Untill we really make two breakthroughs we will not solve our energy crises. The first is to design a solar cell that can produce electricity from the sun effectively without requiring a vast amount of cells and land to do so. The second is to find a way to split the water atom cheaply into its component hydrogen and oxygen. Then we will have solved all our energy problems and the oil companies might as well close shop. But wait. Who are the major investors in this technology? who is throwing bilions into research? Its not the EU, or a panicky Uncle Sam, or even universities. Surprise Surprise…..its the likes of BP, Shell and Exxon. Now why would they do that? You see, I have some kind of crazy theory that the current price of oil has something to do with it. The oil companies are making whacking great dollops of lucre at the moment. Where is it going? Its either going into reserach into new ways of getting the energy we want, or else its being saved for a rainy day.I think its the latter. Somehow I suspect that someone has already rumbled on this technlogy and solved the problems, but is being held back…..by the oil companies I suspect. I bet all of you my bottom Euro that we will miraculously see cheap energy from Sun and Water materialise when the last drop of oil has been pumped out of the ground. Not a minute before. Now…..do you all think I am crazy or what?
As regards the lucky 30,000 who dont get charged the surcharge, I tell them that its been their lucky week, especially if they plead abject poverty and rent out their house for peanuts. Rejoice and be glad, for the White Paper has extened your tenure to your children as well. It proposes to extend your time window for a bit of legal blackmail by around 30 years. Plenty of time to get it cheaply or else to get a sum from your friendly neighbourhood landlord isnt it? As for your endlessly churning washing machine, dryer, air-conditioner ect, you can keep them on. We will pay for them. After all, min m’ghandux jghix ma min ghandu…..mhux hekk kienu qalulna fil-gwerra? By the way, thats a nice noat I see in your ( Pembroke Govt Villa ) driveway……..
Agree with you a 100% on questioning the 30,000 household exemption, and unaccounted for electricity (and water, whilst we’re at it).
You lost me, though, with your statement that “there is almost nothing that the government can do”. Why are we the only country in the world where governments actually pull this statement off ad nauseam? And to applause, dare I add?
Layna Mosley once said that “Although governments often are inclined to claim that they have “no choice” when responding to external economic pressures, we should not forget that their current positions are the result of past political choices”.
It is a saying which kept repeating itself in my head whilst reading your article. Being neither a PN apologist nor a labour ‘elf’, I’ve no problems arguing that all three parties in the domestic scenario have a habit of competing with each other when it comes to postponing tough decisions, and then blaming external circumstances when crunch-time hits. Reminds me of the guy at my university who walked out naked in a snowstorm and then blamed the storm for being cold.
Finding examples of this ‘think later, act later’ mentality is like going to a pot luck dinner. Rent reform? Supposed to be carried out in 1994, the government announces, fourteen years later, that the ceiling on a staggering 40% of the rental stock is to rise from a pitiful Euro 116 (Lm 50) to an even sadder Euro 174.75 (Lm 75). Bilmod, ġuż, għax se ninqelbu!
Remember pensions? Two long years of consultation, taħt it-tined galore, written reactions, and then, on the big day, the PM says that “circumstances are too hard, at present, to introduce state supported forced private pension schemes”. (Those ‘hard circumstances’, take note, were relatively buoyant world and Maltese economies, and a price of oil of less than half what it is now. Sounds like a honeymoon, given present circumstances). In any case, we postponed, once again.
Alternative energy? (forget it, our idea of alternative energy is handing out energy savers, knowing that instead of replacing old bulbs with them, they’re likely to end up in addition to conventional light sources). Encouraging alternative, cleaner transport? (Lowest motorbike ownership rate in Europe – subways and post-CHOGM BMWs are more hip, innit?). Public awareness campaigns for more energy conservation? (“Awareness campaign bħall-billboards tal-elezzjoni, man?).
The most innovative one I’ve heard so far is “we’ll connect to Italy – that way we can import as much electricity as we want, when we want it”. God bless you, qalbi. Am I the only one who remembers Italy last summer going from one blackout to another like an epileptic Christmas tree? Or, even worse, pondering the possibility of Italy charging, on a whim, higher prices than we’re paying at the moment?
Now that oil is trading at around $146 per barrel, our parochial politicians-turned-rocket scientists continue telling us (I’ll use your quote on this one, seeing that Austin couldn’t have done it better) that “the brutal fact of the matter is that it costs more to produce energy by alternative means than it does to produce energy by conservative means”. Bravi tfal! That’s what everyone around the world is saying – and don’t get me wrong, it is true, except for one vital caveat. The rest of the world is actually doing something about it, and though I’d love to ask Jeff Howell on http://www.ask-jeff.co.uk, I’ll stick to the authoritative sources about this, with the overwhelming majority saying it actually is paying off (try The Economist and IHT, for starters). The point, therefore, is that whilst everyone else has the decency to explore alternative energy sources, Maltese politicians conveniently keep burying their hands in the sand, ignoring those policies directed towards even the most basic consideration of alternative energy sources.
In any case, we’ll see whether our Ivy League-trained rocket scientists at Mile End and brand-spanking new Dar Centrali, and their little elves in media (sorry, couldn’t resist!) are as wise when, in a few years’ time, as per present growth rates, the price of oil hits $300 per barrel.
I can see it now: “this is really beyond our….”…
Unfortunately DCG turns her guns on ‘solar energy’!
Can she explain how and why solar energy is more expensive than traditional, polluting energy? Is it because traditional energy does not factor the true cost of its production? Has anyone calculated the heath cost of the pollution? Losses through distribution and theft?
The fact is – if traditional (production and distribution)energy was not nationalised throughout the world, we would have no electicity on demand. Tradional energy has been (and still is)subsidised for a very long time and this is why renewable energy has to be given equal treatment in order to penetrate the market. This situation (subsidies) is encourged by the EU and we also have directives to reach a certain amount of renewable energy sources within 2010 and 2020.
When comparing what a solar heater can do in the UK to what a solar heater can do in Malta, please remember that we have twice the irradiance (solar energy) in Malta than the UK. An solar investment in Malta will therefore produce twice what it does in the UK and this can be seen not only on solar heaters but also in the generation of electricity through ‘solar energy’. THe UK is very strong on wind energy and that is where they are putting their money.
As to the comment or allegation that solar heaters do not heat water in winter this shows the shallowness of DCG’s poorly researched article. A well designed solar heater in Malta will give over 80% of the hot water needs of a family – plain, simple truth. DCG should invest some money over there and lighten the load on her (probably) single phase electical system.
We simply cannot keep using energy in the way we have been -and not simply because of the high energy costs. DCG should be using her space to promote the cause…..
Dear Daphne,
You jumped to the wrong conclusion. The average Maltese household consumes much more than the Euro 450 p.a. on utilities . With the surchage as increased I will be paying that every month!
The average you quoted is not oper household but per meter installed and it captures some 70000 vacant premises which have a meter but no consumption.
“Enemalta has not yet bothered to upgrade the electricity supply to our house, claiming instead that we must pay several thousand euros to have the upgraded supply brought a few metres down from the main road.”
…and we the public will pay for an improved electricty supply to Armier “boathouses”. Enemalta’s reasoning boggles the mind.
Once again, thank you for spelling out what should be obvious to all.
I think among the 30,00 households enjoying the surcharge exemption there are what we now call “single parents” . The aid which the government or Enemalta offers has a limit , it is not an open cheque .Should we stop helping these ‘poor people’?
Daphne applied “same size fits all” after reading Jeff Howell’s article and shot down Solar Energy or Solar water heating installations which in Malta are subsidised up to €230 .
With a capital of €700 one can have a very good Solar water heater for a family of six , one will end up washing the floor with hot water.
I clearly recall when Daphne objected for the removal of the subsidy on kerosene. She knows how to use the pen , and we know how to read between the lines.
I will have to disagree with you here Daphne. The situation in the UK cannot be compared to that of Malta. To start off with, the Government should insist on best practice insulation in all new builds, no half measures. From personal experience, I find that when you mention insulation to Maltese architects, they give you a blank look. Why, with all the modern technology at our disposal, do our old houses keep cooler in summer than new ones? We need solutions that are specific to Malta’s climate and the Government (yes, with revenue from taxes) needs to invest in research and in forcing developers to keep to legislation regarding insulation.
The main issue is not winter though. Heat is at its worst when sun is at its best so no need to store the energy there, it goes straight into one’s airconditioning. The need to depart from dependency on oil is vital for more than one reason. Dependence on politically unstable countries is one. I suggest reading The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling by Daniel D Chiras.
30,000 households do not pay the surcharge. I wonder how many of these households live under the poverty line. I am almost certain that many of them lead a much more comfortable life than I do. The goverment does not give handouts. We are now going to pay through the nose by paying 95% surcharge to susidize these households. The goverment should do some checking and see who is taking advantage. I do my best to save energy and many of these 30,000 households can waste as much as they want, and be awarded for their “trouble”.
Wherever you go in Europe, buildings do not just cosist of bricks on top of each other, but include complex insulation sytems made to keep the cold out when it’s cold, and the heat out when it’s hot. And windows are not just a frame with a pane of glass inside them, but always double glazed and made in such a way that when they are shut they isolate the outside from the inside.
In this country, which supposedly made so much “progress”, all this is totally unknown. Our buildings are still built using medieval methods, insulation is simply unknown. What’s more, since the 60s, we have wider roads catching more sun, and windows on buildings got bigger. Which means nothing else than the houses are hotter in summer and colder in winter.
Such a total lack of attention to insulation is unknown in the developed world. Before even beginning to dream about being the “centre of excellence”, we should look at these matters first.
Somebody should question how the 30,000 households are selected. I am sure that is based on income tax return.
Again, it is no secret that those who can evade tax (rather than avoid whis is legal)do it. These are the same people who do not pay a penny in tax, claim childrens allowance, claim a zillion other benefits, including unemployment benefits, and at the same time are much much richer than the middle clas who have no choice but declare all their income.
Now that summer has started, all the IRD has to do is to follow the money trail. Follow the owners of the boats, luxury cars etc and see how much of these owners claim an income less than EUR 8,000 per year. Malta is a small place and this should be easy. After all, big countries like Canada and South Africa have managed to do this rather sucessfully.
@ Daphne : by the way we normally have water heaters in our bathrooms , I think that is what you meant by “bathroom boilers”. Boilers normally produce steam .
“As far as Mr Howell’s claim about savings is concerned, he fails to appreciate that water heating, according to the government, accounts for 24% of your household energy, on average. If you use electricity for heat and water heating the calculation is simple. If you use heating oil or gas, then according to government statistics, about a third of the gas or heating oil is spent on water heating.
Virtually all modern solar systems cover between a half and 70% of the water heating in the United Kingdom, so you can calculate the basic savings. Once you have done that you should factor in the fact that you have pre-purchased your energy with a solar system so you are insulated from a proportion of the energy price rises, and that your boiler will suffer less wear a tear, which means lower repair bills. Modern solar systems do not require any significant maintenance, except inspections and possibly changing the heat fluid every ten years or so.”
http://robertkyriakides.wordpress.com/2008/04/18/the-money-you-save-with-a-solar-system/
I don’t know whether the €450 p.a. is accurate –
I pay about €160 per month on electricity and:
1. I have a solar water heater
2. Double glazing in every window
3. I painted the roof white to reflect heat (by the way the difference it makes is incredible ).
4. I don’t put on the electricity powered boiler for more than an average of an hour on very cloudy days (this year I put it on a maximum of twenty hours)
5. I have energy saving bulbs all over.
We do have two air-conditioners but these are only on at night and the temperature is never set lower then 26! We don’t have space heaters either!
Can anybody explain to me why my bill is soooo much higher then average?
Just a few thoughts
We are also a family of five, with AC, washing machine and dish washer. My yearly bill is of aroun 600euros, so not much off hte average. I do not have a solar water heater -compared to normal electrical boiler the capital outlay is at least 3 times as much and the reduction in the bill would be minimal – this is so as I have not found on the local market a washing machine that takes both cold and hot water. On the other hand I do have a Euro 30 timer attached to each electrical boiler that switrches them on (not in Summer) for 2 hrs per day (1 hour each am and pm) – and the water is comfortable for a shower on a 24 hrs basis.
My AC’s are usually set at 27 degrees during the day and 28 degrees durting night and when possible only used as fans. The dish washers saves both on water and heating, and is given a run once a night. As for the washing machine, that has 2 or 3 runs a day but it is the highest class for efficiency both in the case of water and electricity.
I have slowly replaced all my elerctrical lighting to energy saving ones. The only other aspect that I havenot been respecting (but should) is to switch off any apllicances that are remotedly controlled – they still utilise energy in the standby mode.
At the moment all other alternatives are not economically feasible – PV system would cost me close to Euro 25000 for self suficciency with lifetime of 20 years = 1250 Euros per year – twice my yearly bill for water and electricity. And home wind is out of the question.
Otherwise you are right and echoing what I have beensayign all along – most people think that alternative energy is free when in fact it is much more expensive to produce. The only national solution is in fact nuclear – there are new,pebble bed reactors that are small, efficient and safe. But I can imagine the reasons why government has ruled this out – not economical but in view of the popular non-scientific reaction. If Italy puts in a Nuclear plant in Sicily and Libya and Tunisia do the same we are still in danger without getting any of the benefits).
To All
Do not trust this site. A trojan may infect your computer.
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455 euros a year? I must have my meter checked – I pay that sum every two months! Am looking to invest into a system that puts excess energy required into the Enemalta grid but guess what? Enemalta pays you less than half of what you then pay when you use that energy yourself.
@ gattaldo – hey man I remember you as a post office boy. Glad you made it man.
Joe M Sunday, 6 July 0921hrs
“And can somebody enlighten me as to why social benefits such as children’s allowances and tax exemption on private school fees are doled out to all and sundry (those who have kids aged sixteen and under, that is), but exemption on the payment of surcharge is reserved exclusively to these 30,000 needy!? households?
Don’t you think that this smells badly of political expediency?”
What about the extremely well off who are still eligible to get medicines for free (paid for by the tax paper) if they suffer from a specific chronic disease? Should’nt freebees be given to the truly needy in our society and not to those who can afford to pay for them anyway?
I agree that the cost of installation for Solar panels is too high at the moment. So how about this. Instead of throwing away €37 million euros, why doesn’t the goverment subsidise solar panels. Make them affordable. And Daphne, with Malta’s climate, there are very few (if any) days when you couldn’t get hot water.
About these 30,000 who don’t pay the surcharge – Is there a limit to how much they can consume (without paying the surcharge) or are we paying for their air conditioners and so forth?
This surcharge is valid for 6 months then it will be scrapped and new charges for consumption introduced.
I imagine they will be very high over a certain amount to encourage economy .
In 1991, when I was rather more involved in energy production in this country, when i was much younger and much more idealistic, i had proposed that a small nuclear power plant at Delimara would be the perfect complement to our then fledgling pwer station. Enemalta bigwigs had laughed it off and dismissed the idea as , in their words, “science fiction”. I had persisted and suggested it to the then PM. My reasoning was simple. We will always be dependent on fossil fuels and someday they would be scarcer and the price would go up. I was smiled upon benignly and told that what i was saying was not feasible. I had even offered to find outside funds for a feasibility study, at which point i was told, rather angrily, to drop it and sod off. Which I did. I’m glad I was vindicated, but maybe at that point I should have gotten into the oil trading business……….stupid me !!!
The french are building small baby reactors nowadays that are idiot proof to operate.One of them will solve our problems for the next 30 years. Libya as just bought 3. Libya, you say !. Its got a lot of oil reserves. Gadaffi is no madman. He knows it will go one day. SO he is using the vast profits being made now to fund his future needs by buying nuclear. So is Iran. So is Saudi Arabia. So is everybidy in the gulf.
And we are still arguing about laying a cable from Sicily. That idea is 20 years too late, but better than nothing.
i have the feeling that apart from the 30,000 who don’t pay the surcharge,there are a couple of thousands more who dont have to pay anything (or are subsidised).
Malta is a land where it pays to not make an effort because everything is given out to you free. I even lost out on a chance to get help to further my studies by an independent school who first said they would look at merit then decided to go on ‘need’. It makes me sad that at 16 I started working everyday in a resturant for peanuts and have kept on in my basic job after graduating. We all pay income tax then social security and a loan. My mother’s neighbour stays at home and leads a life of leisure in a government flat, no surchange and two children from two different foreign men who do not even live in malta. Viva the life of not being responsible in Malta. And all of you who lead a normal responsible life, get ready to miss out on everything because the irresponsible ones get it first and we get what’s left if any.
I can’t understand the decietful way GonziPN is running the country.
Facts are simple to understand.Some time ago the First Gonzi Goverment made a U Turn and signed an ‘oil buying hedging agreement’, which is to last or renewed till/on June next year. Since that date the increase of oil prices should have no effect on the expenditure of the government.
Also the government has enough reserves of oil at previous prices that can last us till the end of this year.
So may I ask the PN experts/ oracles in this forum why we had this last surcharge increase?!!!Why such decietful misinformation by GonziPN?!! What is not being said by GonziPN?! What is the truth?!!
@Peter Muscat,
There is so much you don’t understand!
Get a life Peter
To all those advocates for Solar Panels on this blog.
Will someone give me a clear and simple calculation of the payback on a typical solar panel installation.
Every time I’ve made this calculation, payback takes too long.
“According to the figures given in parliament, the average Maltese household spends just around €450 a year on electricity”
Pay attention to the wording. It says: “the average Maltese HOUSEHOLD”…does not say: “the average family”.
Which makes me question: does this ‘average’ include all the empty houses (i.e., no electricity used but still with a meter) as well?
Just a simple calculation as an example:
A house with 5 people living in it spends 100Euro/month
A house with no people living in it spends 10Euro/month
average consumption is 55Euros/month
@Charles Cauchi,
Solar Panel boiler payback can be about 7 to 10 years in cash terms, HOWEVER one would also be helping the environment which is one of the reasons I installed it.
Gas boilers are also a viable alternative costing on average 350 euros (I stand open to correction) and use about a cylinder of gas a month.
@Charles Cauchi,
An even cheaper alternative is to use a 15 euro timer on your electric boiler, you could cut electricity costs (for your boiler) by 85 %
@Sybil
“What about the extremely well off who are still eligible to get medicines for free (paid for by the tax paper) if they suffer from a specific chronic disease? Should’nt freebees be given to the truly needy in our society and not to those who can afford to pay for them anyway?”
Extremely well off pay much more tax than others and should not be discriminated against because of their success
David Buttigieg Monday, 7 July 1300hrs
@Sybil
“Extremely well off pay much more tax than others and should not be discriminated against because of their success”
Do you mean that social services should be given in equal amounts to the needy and not-so-needy? If that was so then what sort of “social” services are they? It is like giving charity to those who need it least.
il-Vanni Monday, 7 July 1238hrs
“Pay attention to the wording. It says: “the average Maltese HOUSEHOLD”…does not say: “the average family”.
Which makes me question: does this ‘average’ include all the empty houses (i.e., no electricity used but still with a meter) as well? ”
Does this “average” also include garages with a meter and hardly any electricity ever used?
There is one other thing which many people do not appreciate. The power plants in Malta are working at full capacity and unfortunately they don’t have a high and low setting. A turbine is either on or off. To actually be able to switch off one turbine the savings have to be astronomic. This consequently means that if I personally make a big effort and manage to half my consumption, the total bill in oil costs for the country will remain the same. So, what will happen would be that my savings have to be paid for by everyone else including me.
Nothing but a national campaign could potentially result in saving enough to be able to turn off one of the turbines. This could include incentives for installing water heaters, photo voltaics, wind turbines, energy cells and so on. The government should also set the payback level on electricty fed into the national grid at the same price of metered supply including the surcharge. Also, can anyone tell me why its not feasible to collect at least some rain water ?
Furthermore does anyone know what happened to Austin Gatt’s plan to curb the stealing of electricity ?
Its not the government’s fault that the price of oil goes higher but it is the government’s fault that nothing much is being done. Dreaming of one day installing giganitic turbines on Hurd Bank is basically nothing but a dream…
@ Sybil – are you suggesting that after paying thousands to the Gov. for National Health Insurance (no choice of course but compulsary) when we are prescribed expensive medicines I shouldn`t be entitled to claim them from the Health Service.
@Sybil,
If I am forced to pay for it then I damn well sure will use it if I choose to!
Realistically speaking, the price hike is here to stay and there is no short-term viable energy alternatives.
With some common sense, such as switching off appliances when not in use, painting the roof white, installing double glazing, and use low-energy bulbs (in lieu of the 5 promised by the Prime-minister), it is possible to contain the energy consumption. I for one will be more than willing to try these simple but effective methods.
In the meantime, how about mitigating the bills through a reduction from the excessively punishing excise duties on fuels for our excessively over-priced cars?
i have some suggestions for the future utility bills :
the more you waste the more you pay.
there must be a minimum amount a household uses, according to the number of persons residing in the said address. if it seem too low a checkout mut be done. this will curb abuses.
more strict tests on those receiving susidies.
Does anyone know what is required so that one does not pay the surcharge?
@ David Buttigieg … You remind me of a ‘run rabbit run’!
Sure I will never understand the decietful way GonziPN is running our dear country. You like the rest of us are being fed half and much twisted information. However, while you accept all, many others and I will never accept such deciet.
I pity you.
May I ask some questions, hoping to get honest answers.
Some people in this blog say that Daphne is objective and doing a service to journalism ( personally, I never considered Daphne as a journailst) by speaking out the truth and criticising wherever necessary without fear or favour.
OK, let’s put this to the test. Clearly referring to the Mistragate scandal, Dottor Paul Borg Olivier said today that every politician must face his responsibilities. Other government spokespersons have made it clear that JPO should resign. I think that perhaps he could do this “for personal reasons or illness” – to put it diplomatically. The person who would replace him would certainly not blackmail and threaten the government with shaking it and tearfully stamp his feet. He would not worry Dottor Gonzi and make him so anxious – as he obviously is. The situation of “Morto Sansone, morti i farisei” would no longer exist. Why is Daphne – and some copycats who do not have their own minds – disagree with sensible and rational PN spokespeople?
Let us now mention the “university copying scandal” – or Copygate. We do not need to mention names, offend, insult, publish pictures and call the person concerned some animal name. Let’s be grown up and serious. If it had been a Labour MP that was involved in the university examination copying –TWICE – NOT ONCE — would there have been all this deafening silence in this blog? Come on, let’s be honest about this and not hysterical. Why does Daphne’s serious, rational, objective, honest, investigative etc. journalism not state clearly that whoever loves this country cannot allow these things to take place as if nothing had happened? Can we have two serious problems in parliament as if there were no problem at all? Can we continue to thrust our heads in the sand?
Once more, I appeal calmly: If we love this country, let’s invite without insults the persons concerned to consider their responsibilities – as Dottor Paul Borg Olivier has declared. And please, the fact that someone put pressure on the person who copied is not the main point. If the copier in court admitted to copying, there is no mud slinging. It’s the sacrosant truth by the person at fault.
Many on this blog are honest Christians from good, educated families. Let’s work for truth an honesty. Remember: together everything is possible.
Peter Muscat
Why are you rabbiting on about matters that have no bearing whatsoever on the subject at hand?
But seeing as you brought the subject up, you are a fine one to talk about copying. Have you perchanche forgotten when you tried to pass off a whole article you blatantly plagarized as yours?
@ David Buttigieg : Check your refrigerators , are they being used like a TV?
@ Mr Cauchi & others : My daily consumption dropped by around 3 units per day after installing a SWH , my family of 5 adults is consuming 8.77 per day , we bought the Solar water heater + a reverse osmoses unit ( valued at Lm 80 ) , for Lm 400 . I did the plumbing and insulated also the hot water pipes , plumbing would have cost me Lm 30 without insulation. Naturally I was sent a reimbursement of Lm 100 from the government after a few months.
@ Peter Muscat :Mepa case number 01862/08 , guess who the silent partner is ?
ALL politicians are human and make ‘mistakes’, some make less mistakes than others that’s why I voted GonziPN .Just a week ago we had a notary (SSA) who “misappropriated” thousands of liri for the umpteenth time and wasn’t sent to prison even though he had a suspended sentence.
Yes , one is dirty the other is filthy.
Ironically if I would have voted Labour I would have had my newly elected leader breathing down Gonzi’s neck to have the PN program done to the nearest detail.
Do you think Joseph is being honest about the report he is preparing for the EU? I hope you are not that gullible!
Joseph is making me recall the title of Mary Spiteri’s song: “Little Child” .
@David Buttigieg
Re: http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/?p=521#comment-17121
If you haven’t forgot to mention some electricity-scorcher you use (electric cooker? a couple of PC’s running day and night? electric heaters?) then I suggest you give Enemalta a call. I have 2 A/C’s used during the night at 16 and 22 degrees, a PC running at 630W straight 24X7 especially in winter, an electric heater, electric geyser left running throughout winter, and my elec bill doesn’t come close to yours.
@Peter Muscat
You know well which side of the gate I stand, yet myself and a host of other pro-PN bloggers never hesitate to call a spade a spade.
I, for one, have always doubted JPO’s words from Day 1, and it seems that time has proved me right. If you look into old comments you will note that I always held the opinion that JPO should resign gracefully, notwithstanding the (sometimes shaky) arguments DCG &Co bring forward.
As for the CopyGate (lovely, all ‘scandals’ should finish in …Gate, right?)… I do not have the impressions that other blogs / Maltese political media have actually brewed a storm over this, no? I’m not sure about the details of this ‘scandal’, so I may be wrong in ignoring it.
@Peter Muscat,
BTW, another thing. You doubt DCG can be classified as a journalist.
Depends on what your idea of a journalist is. If by journalist you means someone who collates and disseminates stories about current events in the most formal and objective manner, then DCG is not a journalist. Neither are the guys and girls at One TV and Net TV.
If you expand the meaning of journalist to that of one who uses current events as a starting point to share his/her points of view about a variety of subjects in a logical way, or to criticise, then yes, DCG is a journalist.
Most of One TV and Net TV ‘journalists’ do not fall under this ‘expanded’ meaning of journalism either…..
@ Peter Muscat
It’s our policy to inform individuals mentioned in visitors’ comments posted on our blog that they have been quoted. Peter Muscat has. Peter is cordially invited to reply.
The editorial team of labourinlabour.wordpress.com
[Moderator – Trust a Labour blog to have ‘policies’.]
What a name “labourinlabour” . Mind you it does raise some questions like:
When will the “happy” event take place? Who’s the daddy? Who’s the midwife to be? Come to that, who is the mum? Have Mater Dei been informed? One wonders at the kind of monstrosity that will be born? Ah well I guess that one reaps what one sows.
Or does the name simply imply the presence of a party within a party?
And I wonder why does the editorial team resort to advertise its wares on another blog? Who here gives a toss about its policies? Did anybody ask the team? Do we care?
Or has this blog become a post office for Peter Muscat?
Sybil:
Does this “average” also include garages with a meter and hardly any electricity ever used?
I am more referring to the VAST amount of unused houses in, amongst other places, Valletta! And then, these same people who ‘own’ these houses get the benefits from the government, like reduced surcharge, housing, some cheque or another for single parenthood…*sigh*…and here I am, paying my taxes!
@ all … I DO NOT consider Daphne as a journalist nor a free lancer. A journalist’s job is much different from what Daphne performs.Different from a journailst, Daphne DO NOT INVESTIGATE on the what she writes about. The lady posted me some months ago and told me precisely that
I do not have any sort of DISRESPECT towards Daphne.Howver, may I point out some silly mistakes Daphne has been committing lately.
1ST…Daphne’s TMI articles are much too long [at least 1 500 words] and too boring. [How can she aspire to write in The Times like that?] Most people read the first few lines and know that the rest is repetition. [Yaaawn!]
For example recently Daphne wrote about immigrants and her whole point was that she finds African men nice and attractive. OK point taken, but you need not rub it in forever, for Christ’s sake! Lots of Maltese women absolutely do not agree with you and please give up trying to convince them!
2ND…. Daphne is making too many English mistakes lately. Recently she said “eyewitnesses who were there”. Of course “who were there”. Where do you expect eyewitnesses to be, somewhere else?!! Then she said “clothes washing machine” when “washing machine” is enough. Do we say at home “I am going to switch on the clothes washing machine, dear”.
Oh dear, Daphne must try and improve her English by reading a few good books this summer.
FINALLY :::Of course Daphne thinks water and electricity are not expensive. She is very rich!Aren’t we all!
A visitor to Gozo asked his friend ,” is it true Pete, that if you ask a question to a Gozitan he will answer you with another question ?”
” Who told you?” was Peter’s immediate reply.
@ Peter Muscat
You do have a cheek! Your last entry is riddled with grammatical and spelling mistakes!
And who are you to decide on our behalf that Daphne’s
articles are too long or boring? I suggest you go back
and read some of the things you’ve written!
Also adding extra words as long as they are the correct
ones is not considered bad English’.
@Peter Muscat
“FINALLY :::Of course Daphne thinks water and electricity are not expensive. She is very rich!Aren’t we all!”
You mean to say you honestly believe 450 euros p.a. to be expensive? If you told me the figure is innacurate then you have a point. I WISH my bills were only 450 euros p.a.
A prima facie it would appear to be true that it doesn’t make “financial” sense to buy photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity for domestic use. I’d like to bring up a few points for consideration, though.
a) the RAW energy is all around us and there is no foreseeable shortage. We are very lucky to be living on a Mediterranean island where the seasons are comparatively constant. We should use this to our advantage.
b) estimates as to when peak oil will be reached vary between 2 and 25 years. (Peak oil is when HALF the available oil on the planet has been used and it will be no longer feasible for anyone to dig up the remaining half) What will happen to our civilization when we reach that point?
c)It is foolish of us to invest in alternative energy supplies and expect a payback. (The payback “issue” has been dragged into the picture by the people selling PV and solar water heaters, as a marketing ploy.) When we buy cars, electronic gadgets, etc … payback is not a consideration. A typical example is our beloved fridge. What with running cost and maintenance we’d be better off buying blocks of dry ice. But does that stop us from buying fridges? No. Why? because it’s not convenient.
d) the “life expectancy” of PV panels is around 20 years. Can anyone see a “bright future” for fossil fuels then? The price of oil has doubled in less than 2 years (I think). Bear in mind that fossil fuels are today the main energy input for food production. I would imagine that most people would rather eat than watch TV. So at some point oil will have to be rationed if it remains the only “fuel”.
e) in some EU countries, the government pays the owner of the PV panel anywhere between 2 to 5 times the cost of a unit generated. This helps the governments in 2 ways
i) it frees up more of its energy-producing resources – HR, raw materials, machinery etc
ii) it lowers RM purchase costs
In Malta a unit costs 4c (maltese) and the govt pays you 3c (maltese) for every unit you generate and don’t use.
Admittedly the initial outlay for PV panels is steep. However if the expenditure is staggered the pinch won’t be that bad.
Let’s say that the 1st step would be to get “free” airconditioning. So you calculate what electricity you need to generate and purchase PV with the appropriate power rating. The savings you make on electricity bills could be used wholly or in part to finance the 2nd step of the project …
That’s what I’m going to do anyway :)
One thing I’m keeping in mind, though, is that I shouldn’t expect the overall expenditure to lessen. I’m thinking of it mor in terms of saving for a rainy day – when oil prices will explode.
@zizzu, Government really should pay you more for every PV unit generated or few people will invest in such systems I think.
From http://www.energybulletin.net/node/5045
Colin J. Campbell, a pre-eminent oil industry analyst, believes that future crises will be much worse. “The oil shocks of the 1970s were short-lived because there were then plenty of new oil and gas finds to bring on stream. This time there are virtually no new prolific basins to yield a crop of giant fields sufficient to have a global impact. The growing Middle East control of the market is likely to lead to a radical and permanent increase in the price of oil, before physical shortages begin to appear within the first decade of the 21st century. The world’s economy has been driven by an abundant supply of cheap oil-based energy for the best part of this century. The coming oil crisis will accordingly be an economic and political discontinuity of historic proportions, as the world adjusts to a new energy environment”
@Amrio,
“If you haven’t forgot to mention some electricity-scorcher you use (electric cooker? a couple of PC’s running day and night? electric heaters?) then I suggest you give Enemalta a call. I have 2 A/C’s used during the night at 16 and 22 degrees, a PC running at 630W straight 24X7 especially in winter, an electric heater, electric geyser left running throughout winter, and my elec bill doesn’t come close to yours.”
You’re serious? How much on average per month?
Your PC does not use 630w unless you are doing intense processing 24/7 and yes, I forgot I have 2 PCs on day and night.
The simple solution to the energy crisis is atomic energy. Unfortunately ‘green’ hysteria has painted this as the apocalypse waiting to happen, but it’s simply not true.
Amongst the thousands of atomic installations worldwide serious problems are extremely rare. Please don’t mention Chernobyl anyone – that’s what you get from Communism: mediocrity.
And, as others have pointed out on this blog, a reactor disaster in Libya would be almost as bad as a reactor disaster in Malta, so we’re already ‘threatened’, if there is a real threat.
@ David Buttigieg …. I wasn’t commenting or judging on my personal bills. I WISH my bills were only 450 euros per month.
@ John Shcembri .. Answering a question with another question is the way Jews behave . But your point might have been very valid if I was born in Victoria Gozo. Hope you ubderstand very well my message.
In case you do not just ask your friend who visits our WONDERFUL ISLAND, called GOZO.
@ Vanni. Int minnek hekk jew b’accident?
@ the 30,000-haters. So we had money for Dar Malta, we have money for the parties and all the sh1t on earth, but we don’t have money to help those in need. Right. Anyway, if those in need are deprived even more than they are now (especially with increased inflation), it’s not just them who will be hit. Eventually even us, the middle-class, will feel the negative effects if there is less social cohesion.
Well, dishwashers are also generally referred to as dish washing machines, so I assume, that for the sake of the occasional numskull reader, Daphne would need to distinguish between the clothes washing machine and the dish washing machine. So, Peter, it would probably be a good idea if you start to differentiate between the two at home ma tmurx titfa il-platti fuq spin ta’ 1200 rpm.
If a small solar panel, can light up my calculator, i”m pretty sure, solar panels generate electrical energy, and guess what Electrical Energy Can be stored.
Apart from that The suns rays pass through clouds and rain, I believe we do have something called a sun in winter.
Also, Malta is surrounded by sea, I know a farmer who has a wind turbine, lives off the grid and still manages to sell power to 2 other homes.
Your discussion on alternative energy isn’t convincing at all. Oh and Alternative energy doesn’t stop at Wind and Solar…there is wave power, the spiteri power unit (protyped still, but searchable on TOM.com ), Nuclear power (which is safer now), there steam (which I personally think can be further researched)…oh and their is Photovoltiac Solar paint for cars (prototyped).
The only way is alternative energy, Oil will finish soon..its either alternative energy or we’ll be back in the middle ages within 40-50 years.
@ Peter Muscat
Do you think that Daphne’s articles are too long? > 500 words. You must be obsessed with her?
We all know why she does nor wrtie in the Times. Quality has nothing to do with it.
Speaking of quality and boredom, do you honestly beleive that Daphne’s columns can be compared to the the amateurish Joseann Cassar (bad English and flawed arguements), Licari (pseudo intellectual), Harry Vassallo (depressing and repetitive, which is unfortunate considering that I used to read his columns a few years back)and Fsadni (difficult to follow the line of thought). Good columnists exist on both side and bad ones as well. We all have limited time to read all these columns, and hence have to be extremely selective. However, give me a Daphne article every day, even in the rare occasions when I do not agree with her.
Regarding the copying story, it’s useless for Labour to try to create a news item out of this, becuse there is no news value at all. You can keep repaeating the incidident ad nauseum, because it will never attract the attention you so desperately desire. The Maltese know how to distinguish between a real scandal (JPO), all the cheap letters, stage performances and pompous acts (lijder) and an unfortunate very common incident that has been blown out of proportion (Agius)
How would you explain the MLP deputy leaders to be graduated as lawyers considering their crass behaviour?
@Zizzu, It’s true that we don’t normally consider payback in our purchases. It’s because we normally consider added value. Therefore I would be willing to pay for the higher cost of buying and maintaining a car rather than use the buses because for the added cost I get added value, convenience, time savings etc. With electricity its different. You are comparing two methods of deriving the same homogenous unit. One is capital intensive, the other requires no capital but a continuous expense flow. Payback there is relevant, because the consideration is not whether a unit of electricity derived from a PV system gives you a better performance / convenience than one derived from Enemalta.
@Peter Muscat
“@ David Buttigieg …. I wasn’t commenting or judging on my personal bills. I WISH my bills were only 450 euros per month.”
I imagine you meant per year and if so WOW, we agree on something!
@ chris borg. Speaking about the 30000 households exempt from the surcharge does not make one a 30000-hater. If anything the number of people involved is much larger as we are speaking about households. That begs the question…Is it possible that 25% of maltese households are truly eligible? It is the likely possibility of abuse which we are complaining about. The possibility that tax dodgers don’t contribute their share of the burden, while benefitting from others’ taxes by way of surcharge exemption. Last week I recommended that the government undertakes an exercise to identify the top 1000 surcharge beneficiaries and assesses whether the volume of units consumed is commensurate with what you would expect from a household requiring social assistance.
Do you have any objection on clamping down abuse?
@ Chris Borg
Min gibidlek lis-spaga habib?
So Sybil, using your reasoning, those who pay most tax should:
be denied access to state schooling and free tertiary education for their children;
be obliged even agaist their will to take out private medical insurance and use private clinics and hospitals because they must be denied access to state health care;
be ruled out of the state pension system and left to fend for themselves.
i have two gas water heaters in my house. one for the kitchen and the downstairs bathroom (the bathroom we hardly use) and one for the upstairs bathroom. in the coldest months of winter we buy one bottle per 3 weeks and in summer we don’t even use it…maybe at the end of summer we turn it on. to buy and install they are slightly more expensive than an electric boiler, but they work out fantastically because unlike electric boilers, the hot water never runs out, so everybody gets a hot shower/bath whenever they want to.
i think that the gas boilers are by far more economic than solar panels. apart from the installation and buying gas, we also spend some LM20 a year or two to have the maintenance guy and check them for us.
marika mifsud Monday, 7 July 1517hrs
@ Sybil – are you suggesting that after paying thousands to the Gov. for National Health Insurance (no choice of course but compulsary) when we are prescribed expensive medicines I shouldn`t be entitled to claim them from the Health Service.
What I think is that it makes better sense if an incentive of sort, like a tax rebate, is given to taxpayers who make little or no use of the NHS or its services in any given year. That way , everyone will stand to gain something , not just the really needy.
David Buttigieg Monday, 7 July 1703hrs
“@Sybil,
If I am forced to pay for it then I damn well sure will use it if I choose to!”
See my reply above to Ms Marika Mifsud.
I see that Peter Muscat has forgotten to take his medication, again.
When you’re back on your medication, Peter, please absorb the fact that one is a dish-washing-machine (dishwasher is American usage)and the other is a clothes-washing-machine, known by the truncated form of washing-machine because, when they were invented, dish-washing-machines did not yet exist and so there was no need to distinguish between the two.
Also, I am not rich, still less very rich, which is why I have worked for my living without respite since the age of 17.
@ Peter Muscat : Xi dwejjaq fik!
@ A Camilleri
I agree with you to a point and if you consider only the factors you mention you are right. BUT don’t forget that oil is a limited resource. The scenario will change drastically when peak oil is reached. That is when payback won’t be the determining factor.
I’m not an economist, but I would imagine that once the demand for PV units increases – because ppl will have to buy them or else remain without electricity at home – we could expect a price increase. I have to stress that this is sheer guesswork – I am not “playing home”, as it were :)
@ Tim Ripard
Atomic energy is not what it’s made out to be unluckily. Waste disposal is a huge problem. Depleted rods have to be left to cool for years before they can be touched PLUS thousands of years have to pass before the uranium / plutonium (I forgot which exactly, *sorry*) can be taken out of its hole in the ground after it has been used. Projecting into space has been touted as an option, but the costs of doing that would be prohibitive.
Without going into the merits of the actual cost and area (Malta IS a small island) required to setup some type of alternative source of energy, may I suggest the powers that be that a threshold be figured out above which everybody is made to pay for his share of consumption.
It is obvious that consumption means affluence and affluence means a steady flow of income. The threshold should also include the (not for calculating purposes but for getting an idea of affluence) number of vehicles and the cc of the vehicles registered on the particular residence.
I believe that after such an exercise, and those who exceed the threshold are made to pay for their consumption/affluence, the number of 30000 will decrease dramatically and many will have the sense to use energy in a more efficient way.
please note that Vanni and me are two totally different persons
@ David … No I mean PER MONTH!Ok mate.
In the meantime have a look at this N.Y. Times video about malta and Gozo. I think it is great!
http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/mopeds-horsemeat-and-pynchon-on-malta/
@Chris Borg,
Personally I have no problem with people in need being subsidised but I don’t expect to pay for their ACs or other luxuries so I believe only a certain amount (enough to cover basic needs) should be covered
@Peter Muscat
“@ John Shcembri .. Answering a question with another question is the way Jews behave .”
Just how do you think ‘Jews’ behave? Are you finally exposing your true colours? And I don’t mean red!
Daphne YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE!!!!!
@ DCG .. Lol … Touch wood untill the present day I do not have yet a medical record. NOWHERE! So please keep your medication inuendo in your cupboard.
WASHING MACHINES …your way!! .. lol .. you made my day. Thanks.
@ Dave Buttigieg … hasn’t DCG told you yet that that is an English saying!Bothing to do with racism as you are trying to imply. By the way my partner is Jewish. Got nothing to do with being ble eyed licker or red poker.
@Peter ‘Jo Saeed’ Muscat,
Even if as you claim it were a saying, it is equally racist nonetheless and it does expose your true colours even futher!
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080709/local/well-known-author-kilin-passes-away
Those who commend the use of atomic as an alternative source of power forget to mention the concern over the disposal of nuclear waste.
@Peter Muscat
That little casual comment of yours about jews speaks volumes about you.
My Jewish partner beside me is haning her day reading your accusations of me being racist. lol
How silly!!
@ Daphne ….Daph, don’t try to wriggle out of it. When we say “washing-machine” we mean “clothes-washing-machine”. Your “truncated” excuse is just silly. You made a little gaffe; just admit it! Or wash it in your “clothes-washing-machine” :)
Also you conveniently forgot to explain the other “non-truncated” gaffe when you wrote “eyewitnesses who were there”. Do you expect eyewitnesses not to be there, for heaven’s sake!? Daph, your anti-truncation gaffes know no limit. What’s happenening to your English? Is it the lack of medication or the surplus of it?
And what about the presumptuous gaffe of writing “Ferro Agosto” instead of “Ferragosto”? What’s happeneing to you Daph? Vucumprar?
As far as MY medication is concerned, I have to fetch it all the way from Mount Etna Pharmacy. When is the next time you’re going, so you may fetch it for me – for a commission, of course.
Re richness, everybody knows you’re rich, Daph! No hiding please! You are a very wealthy woman – like all “communications consultants” :)
Miskina l-“Jewish partner”!
@ Peter : I think both u & Daphne have “old money” with the difference that she was not spoiled in childhood ” u l-lira taf taghmilha tnejn”.
Xi dwejjaq fik!
Peter Muscat – What’s so great about this blog? Sorry, but anyone boasting about eating horsemeat (which would have once been a racing horse, pumped up with drugs to run fast and confined to a miserable life) and cute little bunnies to me lacks a great deal of compassion.Next we’ll read is that he went to Korea and the Moran Market chose his dog and had it cooked for him before his eyes. This reminds me of a local food writer who thinks that eating meat is the ultimate diet,and the real”delights” are foie gras (which is being produced by cramming metal pipes down the throats of ducks and geese and forse-feeding them until their lives become painfully diseased and enlarged, and in some cases their organs rupture) and “milking veal” where these poor calves are taken away from their frightened and screeching mothers after just a day or at the most two and put in crates so small that they can’t even move around until they are dragged to the slaughterhouse). I shudder to even think about it, let alone eat this food.
Oh and by the way, Peter Muscat this feature does not augur well at all for our island because a large number of people across the world think that eating horsemeat is cruel and disgusting and this person implied that this is one of our national dishes which is not. As if it’s not en ough that we have a bad reputation with bird hunting.
[Moderator – Comment: Jeremy Clarkson: Learn to kill a chicken, or you’ll get no supper – Times Online. Read the bit about Malta, a couple of paragraphs down.]
Jo Said/Peter Muscat: if it’s not the absence of medication, it’s the presence of too much alcohol. Whatever – you’re definitely not quite all right up there. So now you have a Jewish partner? And if we accuse you of being anti-animals, you’ll suddenly tell us that you’re shacked up with a chimp?
@Daphne Caruana Galicia … … I chose to ignore your insults, that certainly belittles you.
But I will never accept your silly assumption of I am Joe Dias or whoever jerk you seem fond of.Your obsessions of this jerk is crude and very silly.
STILL WAITING FOR your apology for mistaken with your ‘jerk’!
Dear moderator, well this guy is another insensitive jerk who sees nothing wrong with blasting animals in the air, maiming, torchering and killing in the most atrocious way for human consumption and sadistic pleasure. This is not just about eating or not eating meat but come on, anyone who sees nothing wrong with torchering animals, somehow has a criminal mind. And his theory that chickens are “vegetables” and “daft”, he cannot know any better can he? because the closest he’s been to a chicken is on his plate
He did make one good point though, toward the end of his article, that if most people knew how the “tasty” piece of meat on their dinner plate came from would think twice about eating it or at least feel guilty .
This Muscat has no limits. He reminds me of a little boy who was always trying to have his say during grown-ups conversations. Everyone used to stand around waiting for him to finish saying whatever he had to say to then carry on with their conversation. Sometimes he would try and provoke an answer, but he was nearly always ignored. If only he knew how pathetic he was. Please everyone, let Peter have his say, but ignore him completely.
Peter Muscat:
It’s interesting that you call yourself a jerk and then feel insulted when someone else addresses you as that person you call a jerk.
@ Corinne V. or Cora …. Simple reason! Calling me names is the norm in this forum but I can never accept Daphne’s allegations/ assumptions that I am Jo Said (in Gozo we tend to change it to DIAS).
Daphne can very well check all and find out she made a mistake.But for one reason or other, your …… is persisting in her error.
If J.S. is Daphne’s obsession/dilemma, it is her problem not mine.
Nb. Some regular posters here did write to me privately and I told them my real identity and they know very well that Daphne’s allegations/assumptions are v. wrong.
Peter Muscat Saturday, 12 July 0958hrs
“Nb. Some regular posters here did write to me privately and I told them my real identity and they know very well that Daphne’s allegations/assumptions are v. wrong.”
And how did they contact you privately? There are no PMs here and your email is not published. Liar!
[Moderator – He published it a few days ago.]
I stand corrected. Apologies are in order.
“Peter Muscat”: What’s with the mysterious “real identity” that you’re so willing to reveal in ‘private’? You’re starting to sound more and more like the creeps who sneak into seedy cinemas with their collars turned up thinking that no one is going to notice them. It makes you wonder why they bother going there at all if they don’t really want to be noticed.
A bit late in the day for my comment I guess, but for what it’s worth…
A decent solar heater makes a hell of a difference to one’s electricity bill. I resort to using the electric heater as a backup a few times in winter (the total equivalent of a month and a half a year) and even then the heater has to warm-up water which is tepid (depending on what time of the day you switch it on) so the amount of energy needed is not that much.
Re Howell’s comments, experts have also claimed that the desert in Libya has (theoretically) the potential to supply enough solar power to satisfy Europe’s demands. Although this claim may be far from practical, Spain is in the process of building a photovoltaic power plant which will produce enough electricity to power an area the size of Seville.
The UK cannot harness solar-power for obvious reasons – it has to make use of wind-derived energy. In our case it’ll probably work the other way round. Fly over Israel during the day and you’d see what I mean. Practically every house uses solar heating and they can’t all be wrong or barmy.
Anyway, bottom line is that its not ‘free’ energy as such, but the investment does pay off.
Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to pick lunch off my chicken-tree.
Here’s the Seville experiment referred to be NGT as reported on BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6616651.stm
Currently it generates enough power for 6,000 homes. they hope to finish off with a solar energy farm that provides the needs for 600,000, that’s the average population of Malta, at any one time (I’m including tourists here). The images are spectacular, and even if it worked six months of the year it would save on fuel bills and pollution.the nice thing about Malta is that it is a relatively small problem. the main problem is that it is small and so the issue of land space would be a big one in a case like this.
The mistake lots of people are making (here and elsewhere) is in failing to distinguish between solar water-heating – which is what is meant by talk of ‘solar heating’ – and the generation of electrical power through solar energy. I don’t think anyone has a home powered by solar energy in Malta, but if anybody knows of one, please let us know. It would be interesting to talk to the owners. Meanwhile, the heating of water for bathrooms and the kitchen-tap makes up just a small fraction of our electricity bills. The things that eat up most electricity are (clothes) washing-machines and (dish) washing-machines, and those heat up their own water, using electricity taken off the grid, which goes straight to your bill.
NO COMMENT (1)
Abuse of columnists’ privilege
Sunday, July 13, 2008
From Dr G.G. Debono Just because Daphne has a newspaper column all to herself, this does not mean that she can abuse this privilege by misleading the public with incorrect information (Tension over the grid, TMIS, 6 July). Neither does it give her the right to insult readers who are genuinely concerned about Malta’s energy situation by referring to them as “energy obsessives” who “bleat about solar power and wind energy”. This is arrogant and patronising in the extreme and is made all the more distasteful by Daphne’s obvious bottomless ignorance about what she pretends to discuss. Oddly enough, in her column Daphne echoes quite precisely Dr Austin Gatt’s repeated fuzzy mantra that “alternative energy” is “too expensive” when she serves up the extraordinarily sweeping statement that “The brutal fact of the matter is that it costs more to produce energy by alternative (sic) means than it does to produce energy by conservative (sic) means.” This, Daphne, is mere wishy-washy rubbish, unless you define what particular form of energy generation you are referring to. Does this dramatic “brutal fact” apply to wind energy, solar photovoltaic energy, solar water heating, biofuels or biomass? Indeed, are you entitled at all to discuss these matters if you are incapable of distinguishing between “conservative” and “conventional” or “renewable” and “alternative” (big difference there)? Were you correct in trying to substantiate what you were trying to say in such a lame, scientifically dyslexic fashion, namely by referring to a biased opinion expressed in the Sunday Telegraph (no less!) by a certain “professional builder” called Jeff Howel? Did it occur to you that this gentleman hails from a country where sunshine is a rarity, even in the summer, and where the con trick still reigns supreme? Yes Daphne, if you had read a bit more widely you would have been aware that people in the UK have been conned into buying solar panels and other gadgetry that is useless in the meteorological conditions of many parts of Britain. Sad to say, Daphne, Jeff Howel’s rant does not apply to sun-soaked Malta. You see, in this country solar panels can produce plenty of hot water or electricity, even in winter. We also have a fair annual dose of wind on many exposed, uninhabited southwestern coastal areas, where we should have had the foresight to build one or two land-based wind farms to help see us through the crisis until we really get our act together. In contrast with Daphne’s portentous “brutal facts”, the true facts are quite simple: Wind energy For many years, clean electricity generated by land-based wind turbines has been cheaper than fossil fuel-derived electricity and, given good wind conditions, electricity generated by offshore wind farms built in shallow (less than 25m) seas is not necessarily more expensive than that generated by fossil fuel. Photovoltaic energy Yes, PV is expensive, but it is also sustainable and the investment can pay for itself in a number of years. The combination of abundant sunshine, plenty of available space on our flat roofs and the adaptability of PV for decentralised grid-connected applications on roofs and façades make PV an attractive option. If the government creates better incentives, widespread take-up of PV could provide a significant amount of clean electricity and go some way to reducing Malta’s dependence on fossil fuel for electricity generation. Solar water heaters First of all, Daphne, solar water heating is not a means of energy generation but of conservation (a word that you seem not to have grasped). In spite of what your aforementioned misguided friend Jeff Howel has to say, the energy-saving potential from wider uptake of solar water heating (if correctly fitted and well-maintained) is huge in Malta. It can save more energy than can be produced by the same area of photovoltaic panels. It is obvious, even to the bird-brained, that solar panels are more productive of hot water in the summer. But, unlike England (where your friend Jeff lives, remember?), the sun shines strongly enough in Malta over most of the winter to provide enough hot water to cover domestic use. Only 11 days per year (three per cent) are so severely overcast that water will not be warmed at all, and electricity will needed to provide warm water. A well-installed solar water heater (and that includes a direct connection to dishwasher and washing machines) can save energy, even on cold cloudy days when the water is only slightly pre-warmed so that less electricity will be needed to bring it up to the required temperature. From the above it is clear that Daphne’s exalted and sweeping assertion: “The huge cost of exploiting them (renewable energy?) is not factored into the equation.” is worse than a gross exaggeration, it is pure nonsense unless qualified. If, Daphne – as seems to be the case – you are talking about large-scale wind energy, you are doubly wrong because wind farms are usually installed by private companies and the electricity fed to the grid at an agreed price. If Daphne must know, we missed a golden opportunity in 2002 when a large-scale wind farm on Marfa ridge was proposed by a private company. This proposal seemed ideal. It was made at a time when wind turbine prices were at their lowest and delivery times at their shortest. The choice of Marfa Ridge was determined by its proximity to the electric grid, the exposed nature of Marfa to the prevailing wind and the absence of dwellings in the vicinity. The estimated annual output of this was 55GW/h or about five per cent of Malta’s requirements of the time. If this wind farm had received the go-ahead at that time, we would now be laughing. Apart from delivering cheap clean electricity (and probably serving as a popular picnic site), it might have helped us realise that we can, after all, live with turbines visible from a distance here and there and build another farm. We might also have gained some hands-on experience with wind energy so that we would be well prepared for the next phase of offshore wind energy. Predictably, the application for this wind farm was turned down by Mepa for reasons that were not made public, but it seems that Mepa went all fussy and finicky over the “aesthetics” and “visual intrusion” of wind turbines. This does seem to have prevented the Authority from continuing to kindly grant fistfuls of permits to lucky developers for equally visually intrusive mega-buck monstrosities which, besides permanently disfiguring our country, will be a drain on our energy supply because (to maximise profit) these developments have no in-built energy-efficient features. Please note: unlike the damaging developments being approved by Mepa, wind farms are not permanent installations. The disturbance of terrain for the pylon foundations is minimal. When better green technology becomes available, turbines can simply be removed after their useful life of 20 – 25 years, leaving barely a trace, with no harm done. Readers are warned to henceforth regard all Daphne’s pronouncements on the subject of renewable and alternative energy with the greatest of suspicion. Dr G.G. Debono
NO COMMENT (2)
Petrodollars, surcharges and obsessives
E. A. Mallia
Sunday, July 13, 2008
From Prof E.A. Mallia Your editorial Assume oil at $200 a barrel (TMIS, 6 July) made a lot of sense. The basis for the calculation of the surcharge given at its introduction never held out any hope of its eventual removal. This has now been tacitly admitted by government, with its proposals for a new tariff structure. The tricky element here is going to be water: the present surcharge is applied to a heavily discounted cost of consumption, at least in the case of the domestic user. Your urgings to government to bite the bullet are a little late. Renewable sources like onshore wind were already “making sense” with oil at $60 a barrel – remember we use low-sulphur heavy fuel oil and diesel for generation, with an overall efficiency of just under 30 per cent, ie 70 per cent of the energy in the fuel goes up the smoke stack! But government is, in fact, now showing some willingness to bite bullets. Yet its various players do not seem to have got their act together. On the one side we have the Austin Gatt woodwind ensemble, with their dismal (and incorrect) refrain that wind is more expensive than fossil fuels and their siren song of cheap nuclear electricity coming down the Sicily cable. This orchestra has recently been reported as having to resort to using a mid-1960 Italian turbine to cope with demand. On the other side there is insistence on “cutting-edge” offshore wind technology, significantly more expensive than on-shore wind and taking much longer to set up. A more coherent approach is required. However, it must be admitted that whatever sense there was in your editorial pales into insignificance beside the wisdom encapsulated in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s piece Tension over the grid. With a truly remarkable display of inside knowledge of the Daphne-centric universe, of great insight into “natural energy obsessive” psychology, of familiarity with “bottom lines” and manufacturing processes, and of appeals to Sunday Telegraph gurus, she reduces your editorial to tatters. There are simply too many howlers in the writing to answer all of them, but let’s take her initial claim to being in a minimum-consumption household. Before she convinces anyone on that point, she should answer a few questions: Does she keep her bathroom boilers on all day, or are they on a time switch? What is the energy and water consumption of her “restless” washing machine? Does she cook with gas or electricity? How many fridges and freezers does she have? How many computers? How much and what type of lighting does the house carry? It may also be worth pointing out that in her tirade against “natural energy obsessives”, DCG shot herself in both feet several times over. Her complaints about Enemalta losses go directly against her gripes about domestic generation, which has the advantage of producing electricity on site, with no losses or theft. Apart from that, we peasants are quite adept at showing that the energy (electrical or otherwise) going into the manufacture of a photo-voltaic panel is re-paid several hundred times over during the panel’s lifetime, just as we are used to factoring in the cost of renewable energy equipment. DCG should desist from trying to teach us to suck eggs, most particularly as she seems to think that in “generating energy by conservative (sic) means”, all one needs to do is invest in a box of matches. But, best of all, her claim to being in a minimum consumption household makes her the ideal subject for a solar water heater. Her array of devices using hot water should all be connected to the solar water heater. The easiest way to go about this is to connect the output from the solar heater to the (time-switched) “boilers”, and the boilers to the washing machine and dishwasher, as well as to the bath and showers, of course. This would require a twin inlet washing machine (they do exist – I have one) but a single inlet dishwasher will do. Boiler, washer and dishwasher all have their own electric heaters, but if the water at the hot inlet is already at the set temperature, these will not come on. In such a situation, the SWH will produce a lot of hot water when it is needed by DCG’s machines. Yet more: if DCG were really to go to town and purchase a top-notch SWH, she could actually power a good-sized air-conditioning unit with the surplus hot water produced. Here, supply and demand coincide perfectly! Before any remarks about natural energy obsessives, please remember that fiz-zmien il-brodu fridges were powered by small kerosene burners and today’s hotel room mini-bars use a small electric heater. The operational principle of a solar powered air conditioner is the same – only the practice has been greatly refined. E.A. Mallia ATTARD
WHAT A DOUBLE WHAMMY!!!
@ Daphne : you preferred the opinion of the builder on The Sunday Telegraph on SWH it’s like one who takes my opinion of his heart condition instead that of Mr Manche’. Earlier on this blog I gave you proof that I reduced my consumption by 25% after I installed a SWH.
25 % is no a”small fraction”.
Being a technical person I am very aware of how to use wisely my electricity.I will further reduce my consumption due to hot water by connecting up the washing machines to the SWH ( the twin inlet washing machine mentioned above )
I can suggest to those who already own a SWH that they can connect the washing machine supply water pipe to a mixer and open the hot tap a the begining of the washing cycle ( not the delicates) , when the water stops filling , turn on the cold water and close the hot.
Obviously when one is going to buy a washing machine or a dishwasher one should seriously consider those with twin inlets.
Heaters consume a lot of electricity, one can find them in electric water heaters , washing machines ,tumble dryers, steam irons, space heaters , electric kettles, dish washers , electric ovens and toasters.
Consumption depends a lot on the duration the appliance is kept switched on and the set temperature,
switch off when not in use.So turn on the water heater an hour before using it and switch it off when not in use turn the thermostat to a lower temperature..
BTW ,some help , there is a BEAUTIFUL( that is how I see it ) PV installation (in a farm?) which tracks the sun, near the Targa Gap/Mgarr/Rabat roundabout on the road leading to Mosta on your left, I think the place is called Wied il-Qlejja.
In my opinion a PV installation is still expensive, but take my advice invest in a solar water heater and use it to the full.
Remember 25 % !
Just remembered : some “farmhouses” in Malta which are away from the grid do have PV installations with back up batteries for the night.Some (medical) doctor is in this business.
The Biter Bit. :)
@Daphne
“Meanwhile, the heating of water for bathrooms and the kitchen-tap makes up just a small fraction of our electricity bills. ”
Actually it is normally between 15 and 30 %, depending on how high you set it. Having said that a simple timer worth about 10 euros would drastically reduce the consumption!
As usual, E A Mallia proves himself to be nothing but a tedious bore, with a chip on his shoulder to boot. (Quote “Apart from that, we peasants …” unquote.)
@ Anna
Groupies To The Rescue! Ta-daaaah!
@ Anna
May God grant you just one iota of the knowledge and wisdom that Edward Mallia is endowed with.
And may God give this Island more Edward Mallias and less Annas
@ John Schembri .. You are right and my electrician applied all you pointed out on two of my farmhouses here and it surely worked fine.
However, the solar energy system is the best option.
@ Anna : if you cannot understand someone you call him a “tedious bore”. Prof, Mallia talks a lot of sense, I prefer his advice rather than that of a presumptuous builder on SWH , wind energy and PV cells.
@ Peter : am I a good electrician?
BTW :Which one do you prefer “Ghawdxi tajjeb aharqu” or “Ghawdxi tajjeb ibzgha ghalih ghax ma’ ssibx bhalu”?
Ganni Borg, I have no idea what you are on about
Ray Borg, do not underestimate my intelligence, sweetheart. As for eccentricity, thankfully I’ve got none of that.
As for your “more Mallias / less Annas” theory, you would definitely save water and electricity at the very least, though I know what I would prefer!
John Schembri, I never had the slightest inclination to begin to understand him. Long-winded pieces such as the ones he usually writes give me the strong urge to turn the page; when they are peppered with chips, then the urge to do so is even stronger.
@ John Schembri … What you said about saving energy made sense.
I certainly prefer the GOZITAN response to your Maltese ‘aharqu saying”: “Malti ixwih hu kif inhu”.lol ..
Tghidlix li ma konts tafha!
@ Peter Muscat : you are shrewd so you must be from Gharb.
@Ray Borg: it’s not a double-whammy, at all. Edward Mallia and George Debono have one thing in common: they are men of pensionable age who live alone or almost alone. They have no idea of what goes into the running of a contemporary household in which five people live.
Among my diverse range of friends and acquaintances, I have noticed that it is only the men who rave and enthuse about solar water-hearing. The women either keep quiet in the face of their men’s enthusiasm, or grumble loudly. Why? Because it is the women who run the household, and the women who have to cope with their husband’s attempts at making false economies and saving on the w & e bills.
In one particular household I know, in which the husband is particularly keen on saving and the woman is particularly acquiescent, a special (clothes) washing machine has been imported to run on cold water only, when every woman knows that some things have to be boiled and others given a hot wash, the hot water in the bathroom and kitchen comes from solar heating with no back-up, with the result that the woman of the house can never take a bath if her husband and children have already had a shower, and there is no dishwasher because one can’t be found to run on cold water. There is constant grumbling and dissatisfaction on the woman’s part. The man is content, because his bills are small. This is a very common story.
Edward Mallia’s assertion that hot water can be fed straight into the (clothes) washing-machine is a case in point. He probably doesn’t wash his clothes very often, otherwise he would know that washing-machines have settings that range between cold all the way up to 90C. Feeding water heated to 50C into your machine and then allowing the machine to continue heating it to 90C is one thing. But you can’t feed in water at 50C and get your machine to cool it to 30C, by which time your delicates would be ruined in any case. I guess Professor Mallia doesn’t own too many silk shirts. And quite frankly, he looks as though he doesn’t take a lot of showers, either.
@ John Schembri: your reference to ‘the builder of The Sunday Telegraph’ is absolutely fatuous. The Sunday Telegraph is one of THE WORLD’s leading newspapers. All of its correspondents are top of the league.
As for your claim to have reduced your bills by 25 per cent, please see my remark above about men and their drive to cut down on expenses, usually at the expense of the comfort and convenience of the other members of the household. May I interview your wife?
@John Schembri: I’ve just read the rest of your comment, which backs up my observation that men make savings at the expense of women’s comfort. Your solution to the washing-machine problem is to stand there while it’s filling from the solar source, then topping up with cold. Who stands there, you or your wife? And what happens during programmes 1 and 2 (heavily soiled) which run for two hours and drain and change the water repeatedly? Do you expect your wife to stand near the machine standing to attention until it drains, ready to push the stop button and fill it again? Or do you forbid her from using the heavily soiled cycle? Sigh.
@John Schembri again: sorry, but I keep noticing other elements in your comment that involve making savings at the cost of creating inconvenience for others. Switch on the boiler one hour before you take a shower? What? Do you mean to say that you expect people to set their alarm clock for an hour earlier than usual, so that they can heat up the water for their morning shower? Or do you expect them not to take a morning shower? And what happens if a member of the household comes home from work tired and fed-up at 6pm and wants to dive straight into a hot bubble bath? Do you expect her to wait an hour (far more than that in January) while a whole tank of water heats up, or are you assuming that there’s a little woman at home waiting to switch on the water-boilers at 4pm precisely?
@John Schembri again: oh yes, of course, you can use a timer to do the work. And then it’s a matter of adjusting to a routine in which the timer is set to accomodate the various comings and goings at all hours of the day and night of a household of five adults. We need a reality check here. Unless all five adults have precisely the same routine, a timer and switching off the boilers during certain times of the day and night is an absolute no-no. Somebody might feel like taking a shower when they come in at 3am. Then somebody else might want a shower when they wake up at 6am, and somebody else might want a bath at 11am on their morning off work. This might come as a shock to you, but I believe that modern conveniences are just that: modern conveniences. They are there to make life convenient, and not to reduce it to one step up from the days when water was heated up at bath-time for the express purpose of a bath.
@Ray Borg: more Edward Mallias? Please remind me of his contribution to Maltese society, apart from that ridiculous electric car in which he used to drive around the university ring-road. If Edward Mallia were a woman, I would cast him in the mould of a sniping bitch, along with all those chippy women who have colonised the newspaper columns in my wake, and who bubble and seethe with resentment towards me. His tone is exactly like theirs. And incidentally, it isn’t a coincidence that one of my sisters is called Amanda Mallia, which gives you some idea of what kind of a ‘sniping bitch’ Professor Mallia really is.
Daphne… What a character!lol .. Your love towards the PROFS has not limits.I bet most Educators are jumping with delight! lol
@Daphne
Actually as regards solar water heating it has reduced a bit of electricity expense at least in my case, and I assure we all have a hot bath or shower WHENEVER we want to.
I am not sure of the solar water heaters you are familiar with but as an example ours was bought for 850 euros. It also has an electric element and a timer to indicate the length of time that heater goes on. Last year it went on for a total of 19 hours and 37 minutes! It goes on automatically whenever there isn’t enough sunshine to heat the water to the required level. It paid itself in about 30 months. It is connected to the dishwasher (which runs daily) but not the washing machine (which often runs more then once a day) for the obvious reasons you mentioned.
Having said all that my electricity bills still seem way higher then average!
Also, sinjura, for your information I do most of the clothes washing, normally late in the evening and hang the clothes up early morning, though my wife brings them. I also do at least half the ironing and the dishes (well emptying the dish washer). My wife has enough to do raising two very active toddlers whilst I am at work! (The amount of clothes they get thrugh in a day is staggering) And believe me my wife would not merely sigh if I tried to deny her any comfort like a hot bath (which I certainly would not do) at any time of the day:)
@Daphne
“apart from that ridiculous electric car in which he used to drive around the university ring-road”
Ironically that car is probably more polluting then most petrol cars! Unless it was charged using renewable energy the electricity to charge the said car came from our good old circa 30% effective power station. Most cars today are much more efficient then our power station.!
@ Daphne
True to form! I have a feeling that you have a score to settle with Edward Mallia. His contribution to Maltese society is the knowledge he imparted to the thousands of students who were lucky to be taught by him. What is your contribution to Maltese society if I may ask?
As regards Dr George Debono I would recom,mend you have a look at the report “Towards a Low Carbon Societ: The Nation’s Health, Energy Security and Fossil Fuels of which he was lead author. Have somebody explain it to you and then comment if you manage to grasp anything.
Commenting about these two learned gentlemen’s “pensionable age and the number of their households is low, cheap and stinks of jealousy. But then, as they say, “The girl can’t help it”
@David Buttigieg: wait until your toddlers are grown up and taking very long hot showers twice a day. Anyway, I am thinking of installing a solar water-heater as an experiment, to see how we get on. Then I’ll report on the experience.
@ Daphne : I have a family the same size as yours, yes our boys take showers throughout the day ( and night ). We have a free supply of hot water for a whole ten months (150 litres ) from a SWH . A very ‘modern convenience’ isn’t it?
I don’t make my wife(u assumed I have a wife) stand by the washing machine , if you re-read what I wrote you will find out that I suggested that white goods should be bought with twin water inlets. Someone here found a supplier , we did not find one.
We work for the money , if we can, we reduce our costs . We don’t have money to burn.
The top of the league expert is a builder by profession , and you applied what he said to sunny Malta.
The real deaf people are those who do not want to listen.
PS : You don’t need my permission to interview my wife.
@Daphne
“@David Buttigieg: wait until your toddlers are grown up and taking very long hot showers twice a day.”
Imbghad naraw! :)
@John Schembri: I work for my money, too, and have done so virtually without interruption since the age of 17.
@Ray Borg: I have no score to settle with Edward Mallia. I don’t know the man and have never spoken to him. On the other hand, he might very well have a score to settle with me, given that he insists on trying to pick fights with his nephew’s sister-in-law, an act of inter-familial aggression which is most ill-advised. But then I wouldn’t expect better from somebody so…..eccentric.
You say that my commenting on the pensionable age of George Debono and Edward Mallia, and on the number of persons in their households (one, or perhaps, two) is “low, cheap and stinks of jealousy”. Why? It’s a simple statement of the facts. They are of pensionable age and they live alone, or almost alone. Now please explain to me why this should make me jealous. I can live without being a solitary pensioner for now, thank you very much.
@Ray Borg – I overlooked the fact that you also demand to know my contribution to Maltese society. I keep it entertained in a variety of ways, which is more than can be said for Edward Mallia, with or without his electric golf-cart.
“Ray Borg” – The tone of your comments above only leads one to believe that your true surname is, in all probability, “Mallia”.
In Austria people wait till 1800 to turn on their laundry equipment , due to good off-peak power rates. Are these people in industrialised Austria living up to the “modern convenience” Daphne expects us to live here in ‘efficient’ Malta.
BTW even these nutty Austrians use SWH .
One does not need to experiment with these SWH , the R&D has already been done by the likes of prof. Mallia,
My SWH is vacuum tube type.
John, the Germans and the Austrians are universally renowned for their stinginess, which they view as thrift. Also, I think you will find that wherever in the world women work rather than stay at home, the washing-machine tends to be used after 6pm. Better electricity rates may be only partly to do with it.
DCG – Ray Borg doesn’t need to know the connection between your sister and Edward Mallia’s nephew, because (to use a favourite expression of “Ray Borg” himself) “I’ll bet my bottom dollar” that Ray Borg himself is really a Mallia.
Daph , we set the washing machine timer so that when we arrive from work the washing machine would just have done the last spin , we hate the noise after a day at work or at university.
Off peak rates will help in distributing the power consumption , and will lower the chance of enlarging our power stations.
You are a hard nut to crack.
John, you have a noisy washing-machine?
Daph , washing machines do make some noise , I prefer not to hear them working while I’m at home.We live in a quite place and at the dead of night we sometimes here the click of a switch of our neighbours two doors away!
@Daphne Caruana Galizia and Anna
First, I am not even remotely related to Edward Mallia. I do not even know the gentleman but I hold him in very high esteem for his priceless contribution to environmental awareness in Malta that dates back to years before “it was cool to be green”. On the other hand, I had the good fortune to get to know Dr George Debono recently and I think that these two scientists, of whom Malta should be very proud, deserve to be treated with more respect in this blog and elswhere.
Secondly, I am not interested in family feuds, gripes or discords and I do not believe that personal lives and families should be dragged in blog comments. It seems that, unfortunately, certain bloggers like yourselves are unable to challenge the message and must resort to base attacks on the messenger; one of the many effects of jealousy, if I may add. I find such an attitude more becoming to fishmongers’ wives than to ladies of certain upbringing.
Finally, for the benefit of those who do not read “The Independent on Sunday”, I am posting a letter that appeared in yesterday’s edition which says a lot about the entertainment element in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s contribution to Maltese society.
Hear! Hear! for Dr Debono on the abuse of privilege
by Raphael Dingli
I would like to congratulate Dr G. G. Debono on his incisive and intelligent comments in your newspaper of Sunday 13 July.
Daphne’s constant criticism on anything and everything that she does not agree with must stop – or if not stopped as we all believe in a free press – then surely some other columnist must be appointed to rebut all of her fallacious, poorly researched, and sometimes incomprehensible opinions.
Surely, any objective observer will conclude that if Daphne is given the privilege to act and say as she does, then this action is sanctioned by the editorial management of your newspaper. Editors are there to edit – or at the very least to provide an opposing view – especially so for a regular and high profile columnist.
I have been reading Daphne’s columns for several years and I will continue to regard anything she writes with the utmost suspicion. I am disappointed however, that not enough criticism has been forthcoming from within Malta about her abuse of privilege. Maybe this is incorrect as there may well have been letters critical of Daphne.
I am trying hard to avoid plagiarising Dr Debono’s overall comments but cannot resist repeating his sentiments – arrogant, patronising, distasteful, sweeping statements, wishy-washy, unsubstantiated commentary – all of these words ring so true with practically everything that she writes. I wish to add a few more adjectives to Dr Debono’s list – snob, insulting and intolerant.
Surely there must be more Dr Debonos in Malta who feel the same way – where are they all?
Again, I wish to congratulate Dr Debono on his comments and dearly hope that Daphne is listening and will maybe lift her game. Thank you Dr Debono for reminding us all to hang on to our suspicions.
Raphael Dingli
CANBERRA – AUSTRALIA
Congatulations Deph. You might be invited to entertain with your own one woman show at the Sydney Opera House after this.
Ray Borg
I am not taking up the cudgels on Daphne’s behalf; she does not need my intervention.
But you will admit that somebody who writes:
“Daphne’s constant criticism on anything and everything that she does not agree with must stop”
And
“some other columnist must be appointed to rebut”
And
“if Daphne is given the privilege to act and say as she does”
and finally
“Editors are there to edit – or at the very least to provide an opposing view – especially so for a regular and high profile columnist”
points to a poor mindset which attempts to muzzle opposing views. Definitely one to be ignored.
I may choose to agree and to disagree with any poster (I’m trying to gather enough energy to tackle Daphne on her sweeping allegation re the German thrift for example, but will settle for a raised eyebrow :D), but stifling an opposing view is not done. I thank heavens that we seem to have exported such a mindset to down under. Malta can do very well without such a person, thank you very much.
@Ray Borg,
What privileged position does Daphne have may I ask and since when should “some other columnist must be appointed to rebut”.
If you don’t like what you read don’t read it! Anybody could reply to Daphne if they choose, either in the letters section of a printed news paper or even contributing an article.
Contrary to labour’s wishes one does not need a whole set of licenses and permits to be a journalist or columnist or write in any newspaper.
@Vanni and David Buttigieg
I admire your efforts to paint Daphne as a latter day victim of ogres set to “muzzle” or “stifle” her. Your next step is to lobby with the Vatican to have her canonised in her lifetime.
Keep up the good work lads.
How tiresome you are, Ray Borg. Raphael Dingli is a little man with a whole set of problems – unlike you, I know exactly who he is because he dumped himself as a semi-permanent house-guest at the home of one of my friends some years ago. I remember him vividly as a very odd and very short person whose face hovered somewhere level with my waist. I can only imagine that he must have felt slighted or ignored during one of the several occasions when we encountered each other, and that my height must have thrown his dramatic lack of it into sharp focus, a factor which wouldn’t have helped (I usually wear flat shoes in the presence of short men so as not to antagonise). He has obviously borne me a grudge for the last decade or so, because he has chased me round the press with sniping letters from Canberra. Interestingly, he may claim to despise me and what I write, but that doesn’t stop him hanging onto my every word, even from as remote a place as Canberra. He even reads this blog. Now, that’s what I call love and dedication. Hi, Raphael! Mwah! Mwah! Two air-kisses: that should give you a thrill.
@Ray Borg,
I did not say she is a victim – did I type too fast for you? Were the words too big perhaps?
I simply said that anybody, including Daphne and yourself have the right to write in any newspaper on any subject they wish, if it his a few nails well and truly on the head that’s tough, nobody is obliged to read the article in question. Simple enough for you?
Ray Borg
Are you comfortable with written English? Only asking as you seem to have missed the whole point of Raphael Dingli’s ‘contribution’, laddie. Maybe you should try and reread it, or if that is too much (there are limits to the vitriolic one can stomach), just cast your beady eye on the excerpts I have quoted in my previous.
@ Daphne, Vanni and David Buttigieg
Cool it guys. Why get so hot under the collar. I did not comment about Raphael Dingli’s letter. I brought it to the attention of those bloggers who might have missed it on The Independent on Sunday out of my love for the right of freedom of information. Who is intollerant now?
@ Ray
And I (speaking for myself) have exercised my right to comment. I hope that you will also recognize my right to disagree with you, and your mentor, Raphael Dingli?
Ray Borg – That should be “intolerent” (one “l”)
Ray Borg – Correction – “intolerant” (one “l”, with an “a” not an “e”). Hawwadtni!
@Daphne,
I know this sounds really bad but someone once told me “always beware of short men”.
Unfortunately I often (though not always) found that to be true!
Ray Borg, like all those who colonised the Internet in the run-up to the general election, to try to drum up votes for Labour, you have a fondness for the word intolerant and you spell it with a double ‘l’. Tolleranza has two, the English word has one.
It is Raphael Dingli’s letter that is an example of intolerance. Raphael Dingli is one of those sadly inadequate men who develops obsessions and who, 300 years ago, would be deriving sado-masochistic sexual thrills out of torturing women on the grounds that they are witches. Learn a little more about male psychology, why don’t you?
Vanni – You told “Ray Borg” “Are you comfortable with written English?”
If “Ray Borg” is the person I think he is, then he’s a whole lot more comfortable with the written word in any language, as opposed to the spoken word. The reason would be too nasty to put in print, despite the fact that he himself has no qualms about making a mockery out of others.
Left a link to your site on mine check it out.