Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1516944
2 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 6 MARCH 2024 2 MATTHEW VELLA mvella@mediatoday.com.mt THE former chairman of En- emalta, Alex Tranter, has told the public accounts committee that he felt an interconnec- tor to the European grid was deemed to be the path of least resistance, rather than con- struct a new gas plant. Tranter, called to testify on the NAO's inquiry into the pro- curement of the 200MW gas plant, said he had convinced the Nationalist administration at the time to first connect Malta to Sicily through an elec- tricity connector, before mak- ing the shift to gas. Malta's gas policy shift took place after Labour's election in 2013, having been its key poli- cy plank to reduce energy bills, with the Electrogas gas plant having been completed in De- cember 2017. Tranter had presided over a controversial decision to raise energy tariffs for domestic and commercial users, at a time when the state utility was bur- dened by large inefficiencies and huge debts. Tranter, unable to answer most technical questions made to him by government MPs, claimed that as chairman of Enemalta, he was not consult- ed on energy policy strategy, but made a point of saying that he put his weight behind the interconnector project being implemented before any gas plant was considered. "To me it seemed far less cumbersome to go for the interconnector rather than build a new plant… I felt the first priority for any- one was to make sure they had energy when they switched on the light." Tranter said that Enemal- ta would often buy fuel oil on the market at current prices, or through hedging agreements. "It was no easy balancing act, and not something that guar- anteed the best outcome." The former chairman was hard-pressed by government MPs over whether Enemalta's hedging policy at the time had won any benefits in terms of energy bills, which at the time had been increased. "The in- crease in energy bills was down to an increase in the price of oil. The increase was not even proportionate to the increase in oil, but tariffs were some- what increased," he said. Labour MP Glenn Beding- field asked Tranter whether he agreed with former Enemal- ta CEO David Spiteri Gingell, who in 2013 had claimed that decisions on Enemalta were being taken "by South Street", namely the ministry for invest- ments led by Austin Gatt. Tranter said he had no say in the new tariff structure, which he said was decided politically. "On our part, we had to pres- ent decision-makers with the reality of the oil market and the expense of producing the ener- gy." Today Tranter works as CEO (energy and food) at Vassallo Group, namely leading solar farm division Powereze, and food caterer Cateressence. In 2008 he had informed Ene- malta's board of directors that he would abstain from any de- cision on the Delimara power station's extension, since Dan- ish firm BWSC was subcon- tracting Vassallo Builders on the civil works. In 2010, while still chair- man of Enemalta, he was also a director of Vassallo Build- ers Group when the company launched its bid for the instal- lation of solar panels on gov- ernment buildings, together with American solar farm company Sunpower. Weeks before, he had been the CEO of an Italian solar farm compa- ny, Sunray Holdings, that was sold off to Sunpower for €200 million. Tranter was later also de- clared innocent of misuse of public funds, misappropriation and fraud over the alleged ex- travagant misuse of company credit cards during his tenure between 2005 and 2010. Former Enemalta chairman: interconnector easier option than gas plant in 2010 Former Enemalta chairman Alex Tranter A two-day strike by Lufthansa ground staff in Germany between Thursday and Saturday morning has forced Air Malta to cancel flights to Munich airport. Air Malta informed its passengers that flights KM306/KM307 and KM308/ KM309 between Malta and Munich on Thursday 7 March and Friday 8 March have been cancelled. The airline said customers booked on these flights will be able to either re- book to travel on an alternative flight by contacting customer service on +356 21662211 or receive a full ticket refund by emailing refundrequest@airmalta. com. Air Malta said that for flights booked through a travel agent, customers should contact their travel agent who can submit a refund request on their behalf. The strike action has been called by the powerful Verdi Union with Lufthansa warning that it could affect some 200,000 air travellers. The strike action would impact passen- ger services from 4am on Thursday until 7:10am on Saturday. The union accused Lufthansa management of showing "no willingness" to come up with an improved offer in collective bargaining talks. Germany airport strike forces Air Malta to cancel Munich flights Air Malta f lights between Malta and Munich scheduled for Thursday and Friday have been cancelled as a result of strike action impacting Lufthansa's ground operations in German airports