Enemalta debt at €835m, corporation working on new oil hedging deal

Enemalta's debts have reached €835 million, Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi said in parliament this afternoon. He also announced that the corporation is seeking to capitalise on a recent dip in oil prices to secure hedging agreements for next year and 2015 until the conversion of the power station to use gas. Speaking in parliament during the Budget debate, Dr Mizzi said Enemalta last year made a loss of €70m despite the government subsidy. The government, he said, had found various problems, including problems in oil procurement, a cost over-run of €26m in the interconnector project and significant delays in the smart meters programme, as well as technical problems with regard to some of the meters. It was also discovered that days before the general election, the Cabinet decided to give Shell compensation of €5m as an out of court settlement of a dispute it had with Enemalta (over refuelling services at the airport). Dr Mizzi said that without going into the merits of the case, it was a scandal that the former Cabinet had decided on this pay-out during the electoral campaign. The former government, he said, had also prepared to raise tariffs after the general election, as also...