Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/426299
MIRIAM DALLI MALTA will be making use of gas- generated electricity by June 2016, according to new timeframes an- nounced by Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi. A 200MW interconnector connect- ing Malta to the European grid will be commissioned in early 2015 as works on the interconnector are in their fi- nal stages. The June 2016 deadline also means that the BWSC plant would have been converted to gas while the ElectroGas plant would be up and running. Around 50% of Malta's required electricity will be generated by the ElectroGas consortium, while the BWSC plant – to be converted to gas operation by Shanghai Electric Power (SEP) – would cater for 30%. The in- terconnector would provide for the remaining 20% of the energy mix. The agreement signed with the Chi- nese state-owned company does not dictate the energy dispatch that En- emalta should buy from the converted BWSC plant, it will be up to a techni- cal committee to decide this. Having landed in Malta from China on Monday afternoon, Mizzi told par- liament that the "formal close of the Shanghai Electric Power investment is being finalised". No fresh details on the SEP agree- ment were given – the BWSC will be converted to gas by SEP and the €320 million cash injection in Enemalta means that SEP would be acquiring a 33% stake in the company. Addressing a news conference soon after briefing parliament on the new timeframes, Mizzi said a technical committee would, on an annual basis, decide how much electricity Enemalta would need to buy. "These would be based on economic criteria, the unit cost of electricity and security of supply which can vary from year to year. Early on, we will be mak- ing more use of the ElectroGas plant which is envisaged to be running most of the time. The other two portions will be split 30% and 20% between the SEP plant and the interconnector re- spectively. This mix may change over time, depending on the price of the interconnector." WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION WEDNESDAY • 3 DECEMBER 2014 • ISSUE 393 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY €0.90 PG 10 Tumas chairman George Fenech dead at 63 Newspaper post PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD Ombudsman, 'Campaign to undermine trust in my office' Gas plant deadline pushed to June 2016 JAMES DEBONO THE institutional conflict between the government and the ombudsman on an investigation into army pro- motions "should have never started in the first place and certainly not in the way it started," Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino said in the an- nual report presented in parliament. The ombudsman was referring to the government's attempt to block an investigation of his office into com- plaints on promotions lodged by army officials. Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mal- lia claims that the ombudsman does not enjoy jurisdiction over the army. In the same report the ombudsman has also condemned a "campaign of unfair criticism" and allegations of "political bias" in an unspecified sec- tion of the media. While saying that he welcomes criti- cism related to his administration of the office he objected to any insinua- tion of political bias which only serves to undermine the public's trust in the institution which guarantees the peo- ple's right to "good governance". "The allegations made are condem- nable and whoever permitted them should be held responsible for his ac- tions," Said Pullicino wrote. In his report the ombudsman insists that the procedure regulating the way complaints in the army should be in- vestigated by the ombudsman was al- ready agreed upon with the previous PN government following "high-level" negotiations. According to Said Pullicino the agreement was already being imple- mented after the ombudsman had issued his recommendations on an investigation on complaints made by army officers. "These recommendations had al- ready been implemented both by the previous government and in two cases on the watch of the present one". PN: 'Government caught up in yet another lie' Energy minister Konrad Mizzi said that the formal close of the SEP investment 'was being fi nalised' CONTINUES ON PAGE 4 FULL REPORT PAGES 2-3