Labour MP Silvio Schembri said the Nationalist Party should apologise to Enemalta workers, Marsaxlokk residents and all of Malta for what it did in the energy sector, particularly about the increase in the energy tariffs.

Speaking in Parliament on the Enemalta Corporation estimates, Mr Schembri said the PL will stick to its promise to reduce energy prices by 25%, leaving money in people’s pockets to be spent elsewhere. The PL’s energy plan also meant cleaner energy.

The PN’s policy on energy meant that industry was paying the second highest prices for energy and Maltese families were paying the third highest energy rates in Europe. Malta has the highest rate of power interruptions and the longest periods of time without power, he said.

For the Labour government, energy is an important and fundamental sector, and this is why the government is investing heavily. Having a minister solely responsible for energy is a promise that has been kept, he said.

The Opposition has a duty to monitor the situation, Nationalist MP Censu Galea said. Marsaxlokk is still the most important place for the country’s fishing industry, and any development that takes place there has an impact on their livelihood.

The government must ensure the safety of the project that it about to undertake, and that any environmental incident will have a negative impact not only on Marsaxlokk but on the whole of Malta, Mr Galea said.

He spoke about the need to maintain and upgrade distribution centres, as these are vital links in the energy network. Demography shows that people are moving from certain areas to others, and therefore the government needs to plan for these shifts so as not to encounter energy distribution problems.

Labour MP Silvio Parnis said the PL had always made it clear that the energy sector was to be among its priorities when elected to government.

He said that Marsa residents should be compensated for the amount of suffering they had to undergo with the power station in their locality. The people living in the southern part of Malta want to know that they will be breathing cleaner air, a promise that was made by the Labour government. We promised that we will bring down energy prices and we are moving in that direction to implement this promise in 2014, Mr Parnis said.

The government has a five-year plan and it cannot be implemented in three months, he added. We have achieved a lot in three months, but it will take the government longer to fulfil its plans.