Europe-Wide Blackout Fears Show Importance Of Malta’s Current Energy Mix, Miriam Dalli Says
Fears of Europe-wide blackouts this winter due to insufficient gas reserves show how important it is for Malta to produce electricity from a mixture of sources, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli has said.
After Italy’s Economic Development Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti warned a blackout “cannot be ruled out” given the current energy system, Lovin Malta asked Dalli whether she shares these concerns.
“The situation you are referring to shows the need for an energy mix such as the one we have today, a vision adopted contrary to the advice of the opposition,” she responded.
“In fact, nowadays Malta operates an N-1 strategy – a security criterion which seeks system reliability and adequate generation capacity which ensures supply for the country.”
“The energy mix is composed of renewable energy sources, local generation, the interconnector, and an emergency backup plant. To enhance this vision, new projects were announced for the future.”
This was a reference to a proposed gas pipeline connecting Malta and Sicily, which will also allow the transportation of hydrogen when it starts being produced on a large scale, as well as offshore wind farms and solar farms.
The ElectroGas power station (Photo: ElectroGas Malta)
A shortage in gas supplies has seen energy prices across the continent soar and European politicians and energy analysts warn of potential blackouts.
Besides the recent statement by Italy’s Minister for Economic Development, Austrian Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner recently launched a national poster campaign urging Austrians to brace themselves for power cuts by keeping 15 days’ worth of food on hand.
“The question is not whether a blackout will come, but rather when,” she said.
Jeremy Weir, CEO of energy trading giant Trafigura, said Europe risks rolling blackouts if there’s a prolonged period of cold weather.
“We haven’t got enough gas at the moment quite frankly. We’re not storing for the winter period,” he said. “So hence there is a real concern that… if we have a cold winter that we could have rolling blackouts in Europe.”
Malta, which is no stranger to blackouts, hasn’t warned the public to get ready for public outages this winter. However, the Maltese government has allocated over €195 million of next year’s budget to cushion the impact of higher gas prices and allow it not to increase electricity bills.
This is in anticipation of the April 2022 expiration of Malta’s five-year contract with ElectroGas Malta for the purchase of LNG at a fixed price.
Meanwhile, ENTSO-E, which represents European electricity network operators, has urged calm.
“Blackouts are extreme and very rare events in Europe,” a spokesperson for the group said, adding that the last major grid outage in Europe happened nearly two decades ago and that the continent’s grids have since become better connected.
EU Energy Ministers convened in Brussels last week to discuss this energy crisis.
Dalli said she told fellow ministers that the European Commission must look at solutions that are strong enough to address the possibility of the spike taking longer than originally predicted.
She also called for tailor-made solutions to address the varying realities across Europe, but more specifically for island states like Malta at the periphery of the EU.
How do you think Malta should diversify its energy mix?
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