One of the Labour Party’s main pledges ahead of the 2013 general election, the power station was sold to the public as a way of producing clean energy and improving electricity generation efficiency, allowing the government to slash tariffs significantly.

The hedging deal itself has raised eyebrows for several years, with The Guardian revealing in 2018 that Malta was losing millions of euro because it had committed itself to purchasing gas at a fixed rate for five years. With the global gas market plummeting, Malta was forced to pay twice the market rate.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine later caused gas prices to surge to record levels, placing the deal in a new perspective.

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat recently said the hedging deal saved Malta around €125 million.

Yorgen Fenech, a businessman charged with the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, owns shares in a company (GEM Holdings) that forms part of the consortium and was heavily involved in negotiations with the government.

In 2020, the Gasan Group announced their intention to sell its shares in GEM Holdings after potential links were drawn between the project and Caruana Galizia’s murder.

However, it is yet to actually sell their shares and the case against Fenech is ongoing, while no charges have been brought against ElectroGas.

What do you make of these new numbers?