Watch: ‘Thank God Enemalta Engineers Don’t Listen To You’ – PN MP Claps Back At Miriam Dalli’s Parliamentary Jab
PN MP and energy spokesperson Mark Anthony Sammut has clapped back at Energy Minister Miriam Dalli, saying that he “thanks God that the engineers at Enemalta don’t listen to her”.
This comes after Dalli’s jab in Parliament on Tuesday, where she told Sammut that she thanks God that he, who is an engineer by profession, does not work at Enemalta.
“He may be an engineer, but I thank God that he is not an engineer at Enemalta,” she continued as her colleagues banged on Parliament’s tables.
The dispute started when Sammut warned that the recent mass blackout was due to the country relying solely on the Malta-Sicily interconnector rather than the Delimara power station because the LNG tanker had to be moved to safety during the Helios thunderstorm. He said that over-reliance on the interconnector caused it to trip.
However, in comments to journalists, Dalli said that the interconnector did not trip due to an overload but rather due to a fault that developed in Ragusa.
She said that while the interconnector has a capacity of 225MW, it can be loaded up to 350MW for a short period of time, as long as the temperature is kept in check.
Sammut then reacted to Dalli’s comments, saying that it’s madness for the government’s energy policy to rely on loading a 225MW interconnector with 350MW just because the temperature is being checked.
“Minister Dalli thanks God that I’m not an engineer working for Enemalta. I thank God that the engineers at Enemalta don’t listen to her,” he rebutted.
“I had to read it twice to believe it. Labour’s energy policy relies on exceeding 350MW if necessary on an interconnector designed for 225MW.”
“We are talking about a 120-kilometre cable, one of the longest HVAC cables in the world, most of which is under the sea and underground.”
“To take the risk of giving it that load and causing damage to some part of it, when you know that without it, Malta will not have energy, is ultimately irresponsible.”
He continued to say that “statements like these show the amateurism of those that invested for energy that is only accessible on days with good weather”.
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