Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/260953
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2014 10 News Muscat slips on emission rules The Prime Minister's claim that BWSC power plant has not resulted in a deterioration of air quality simply thanks to a change in legislation by the previous government does not hold water, according to experts JAMES DEBONO JOSEPH Muscat's claim that emis- sions from the Delimara BWSC plant are within limits simply be- cause emissions' thresholds were raised by the previous government, has been debunked by technical ex- perts consulted by this newspaper. On Wednesday, Muscat was asked whether he was prepared to retract his 'cancer factory' remark on the Delimara power station extension, after the Malta Environment and Planning Authority issued a report conducted by the University of West England which found no deteriora- tion of air quality following the op- eration of the Delimara BWSC plant using heavy fuel oil (HFO). Muscat refused to retract the can- cer factory claim, insisting that it was the Nationalist government that had raised the emission thresholds to accommodate BWSC. "That was why the emissions were within the law." The previous government had in- creased the allowable emission lim- its for Delimara, by means of a legal notice in January 2008 – right in the middle of the tender process – that enabled BWSC's diesel engine to comply with environmental require- ments, in contrast to the original levels on the proper tender docu- ment. Muscat now claims that the Uni- versity of Western England (UWE) results on air quality showed no evidence of extra pollution from the BWSC plant simply because the PN government had raised the accept- able limits before issuing the neces- sary permits for the plant. But according to energy expert Ed- ward Mallia, the Prime Minister has no idea what task the British Univer- sity had been set. "This [task] was to examine wheth- er the coming on stream of Heavy Fuel Oil from BWSC, with its pol- lution abatement equipment fully functioning, produced any fine par- ticulate emissions in excess of that produced by old Delimara power station. Therefore the result that no extra pollution was detected had nothing to do with changing of lim- its." Muscat gets directive wrong A technical expert who preferred not to be named pointed out that the MEPA study refers to air quality standards, which apply to the whole of the European Union, and there- fore are unrelated to any change in legislation in Malta. According to the expert, the report does not deal with emissions from the plant itself as suggested by Mus- cat, but deals with compliance with the ambient air quality standards, which are uni- versally applica- ble through- out the EU. MAT TH E W VELLA ENERGY minister Konrad Mizzi has warned against an attempt by the European Commission to force member states to decentralise the regulation of energy prices. The European Commission is conducting bilateral consultations with all member states centrally regulating retail energy prices – with Malta being one of several member states whose governments still control the price of electricity and soon, natural gas. "It is critical that the EU does not adopt a one-size-fits-all approach when dealing with member state market specificities – hence the need for flexibility. The EU en- ergy acquis is specific on Malta's specific circumstances and it is ac- knowledged that the size of Malta's energy market requires specific considerations," Mizzi said when asked about energy commissioner Günther Oettinger's letter to all member states centrally regulating the price of electricity. Mizzi did not deny that Malta was one of 17 member states whom the Commission wants to gradually phase out energy price regulation, because it does not "carry the right message" for private investors. The Commission is arguing in favour of a free market price, and that competition among service providers will eventually stabilise prices at an appropriate level so consumers would also be better off in the longer term. Malta's energy market is too small to include more than one large-scale competitor, which is why it was allowed to retain an en- ergy monopoly in the form of En- emalta when it became a member state in 2004. The new Labour government has now awarded a tender for the construction of a 200MW natural gas power plant and regasification unit, and for a purchase-and-sup- ply agreement for natural gas at prices it has already set. "Malta has maintained a consist- ent position on this issue in all European fora. The current gov- ernment is a firm believer that investment in the energy sector is a driving force for economic growth. In this respect this gov- ernment was the first to introduce a new operator in the generation sector, which will be investing in a new modern plant." According to press reports, Oettinger wants bilateral con- sultations with member states to gradually phase out government energy pricing as part of the mem- ber states' structural reforms, and will launch, if necessary, infringe- ment procedures against those who use price regulation which does not conform with EU law. Bruxinfo also quoted Klaus-Diet- er Borchardt, director of the inter- nal energy market, saying that the Mizzi: Brussels should not adopt one-size-fits-all on energy prices Joseph Muscat Gunther Oettinger