Goodbye stability: we will be paying market prices for the power station’s gas

The Government is forced to admit that, under the nine-month “stopgap deal” with BP signed just before the Electrogas agreement expires, prices will move according to the market

Thanks to the pressure exerted by the Opposition yesterday, both through a statement and in Parliament, we now know that the Labour Government did not negotiate any fixed price for the purchase of gas for the Delimara tanker, and that the price to be paid by Enemalta from our taxes will vary according to international market prices.

Despite boasting that an agreement had been reached with BP, Minister Miriam Dalli was forced to admit that the price the country will pay to ensure that, from August, we do not end up without gas supply for the power station, will depend on the market price.

While yesterday the Government launched an attack on the Opposition, alleging that it had led a fear campaign on gas supply, and while Labour boasted that it had taken a decision that guarantees stability in the energy sector, Minister Dalli and Robert Abela have now had to admit that the price Malta will pay over the next nine months will be driven by the market. Goodbye stability!

The only thing the Minister responsible for energy was able to do in Parliament yesterday was give an estimate of how much each unit of electricity from the interconnector costs today and how much it is likely to cost under this deal with BP. But she did not tell us whether there is an agreed maximum price ceiling should the market price of gas rise again.

Although the Government is saying that the price for consumers will not change, the fact remains that the burden of these prices will be paid from our taxes or loaded onto public debt.

Dalli also confirmed that this deal is nothing more than what she herself described as a “stopgap”, and that, according to her, the Government has already started working on arrangements to purchase LNG after this agreement expires in May next year.

The fact that this agreement was only reached for a few months confirms that it is not a favourable deal, and confirms the lack of prudence of a government that waited until the final two months before the existing contract expired to negotiate a new one.

Through her statements in Parliament and outside it, Minister Dalli confirmed what the Partit Nazzjonalista said: that in the energy sector, because the Labour Government dragged its feet until the very end when it knew that the contract with Electrogas would expire in August, there is no serious and long-term plan. Even in such a delicate and important sector, the Government is operating through a policy of management-by-crisis.

What is certainly fixed now that summer has returned is that every day there is a power cut somewhere.

If the Government is so proud of this agreement, it should have no problem publishing it and allowing the people to judge whether it is competitive and favourable, instead of expecting us to rely solely on its word.

23.06.2026