Almost €120 million have been pumped into Enemalta by the government during the first seven months of the year, Enemalta CEO Jonathan Cardona said.
In comments to Times of Malta, Cardona said the decision had been taken to pay Enemalta directly for the rising energy costs, rather than raise prices and then offer vouchers to consumers.
“Seeing that there is one supplier in Malta, it was much easier for the government to pay the money to Enemalta for bills not to rise.”
Cardona said the government steps in monthly to make up for the shortfall between what Enemalta pays to buy energy, and the lower price at which it then sells it to consumers.
“The process is completely audited. The government forwards the difference to Enemalta.”
Times of Malta reported last month how a €200 million fund allocated to keep utility prices stable will have to be topped up by a further €50 million.
No impact on second interconnector plans
Cardona said the rising cost of buying energy from the interconnector has not impacted plans to build a second permanent energy link with Sicily.
Energy Minister Miriam Dalli has continually emphasised the need to increase the use of renewable energy sources.
In 2015, Enemalta set up a joint company with its shareholder Shanghai Electric Power to explore international renewable energy opportunities. The company was used as a vehicle to buy shares in the Montenegro wind farm project, which has been linked to corruption.
Cardona said there were no immediate plans to carry out any further projects via the joint company.
He said Enemalta’s focus at the moment is improving its distribution network.
Cardona said during a press briefing that in the first eight months of the year, Enemalta had invested over €11 million to improve its distribution network.
He said summer power cuts had been reduced by 34% as a result.
Cardona said more works will be carried out over six years as part of a €90 million plan to strengthen the network.
Peak demand during the day hit 581 megawatts on July 7, a 2.8% increase on the previous year’s high.
The evening peak record hit 542 megawatts on August 17, an increase of 5.6% when compared to the peak in 2021.
Evening peaks place more pressure on Enemalta, as renewable sources like photovoltaic panels will not be online.