There was, in truth, no doubt whatever about the outcome, as there had been no doubt either about similar applications submitted by the administration in previous years. That’s the way with things in Malta.

In past years and maybe even yesterday, it was very easy to pour disdain on the final vote and to portray the board, yesterday or today, as government stooges.

There was, yesterday, no doubt that the letter by the prime minister, read out at the beginning of the proceedings, was a heavy move that could very well have been left out. Nevertheless, the prime minister was well within his rights as this procedure had been used before, by a different administration, following the change in the law in 2010.

On 28 January 2011, this paper had carried an article which said: “A legal precedent was set yesterday as a new clause in the Mepa Act was brought into effect.

“The new law states that in cases of national importance, such as the decision to extend the power station, the Mepa Appeals Board can send an appeal to the Cabinet to be decided.

“But the law also states that the Cabinet can send the appeal back to the Appeals Board. This is what the Cabinet did according to a letter read out at yesterday’s hearing of the Appeals Board.”

Obviously, having the present prime minister’s letter read out at the beginning of yesterday’s proceedings was very heavy-handed and no doubt set the tone for what came later.

But to conclude that only two true and steadfast men could be found in the board would be to insult the rest of the board who are not normally considered as pushovers, given all the circumstances. Nor were the members of the preceding board that, for instance, approved the BWSC plant any pushover, either.

Anyway, the die is now cast.

There is no doubt that the present administration has a clear electoral commitment to switch over to a cleaner and less costlier fuel – gas – in a clear bid to bring down the price of electricity to Maltese consumers.

There is no doubt either that the world is switching over to gas (or shale) in a bid to go for cheaper fuel. Nor is there any doubt that gas, eg in the US, is extracted far more cheaply and the users thus benefit from cost benefits.

There is also no doubt that the current Ukraine crisis has once again highlighted the dependence of many countries in Europe on Russian fuel, especially gas. The EU has been trying hard to reduce this dependence, and so it did, after the cruel cold winter of 2009 when people in Ukraine shivered without gas, but not enough has been done. There have been talks and plans for gas connections, especially one from Azerbaijan to Italy, in which we are very interested, but this is many years away.

Ideally, we could have hoped in accessing the vast gas reserves there are in Libya but the current situation in this country makes this a very remote possibility.

The Muscat administration has chosen to push for the LNG solution with a ship in Marsaxlokk Bay. Enough has been said over the past days about the dangers inherent in this solution and had there been less undue haste, it would have undoubtedly been better for all.

Yesterday’s decision is by no means the end of the matter. There is still the IPPC permit to be dealt with and objectively that is where the many issues on an operational level should be raised. In fact, coincidentally, or perhaps not, the Mepa board is due to decide on the IPPC permit of the BWSC plant this coming Thursday.

Marsaxlokk B ay has become, over the years, a very delicate place to be. The previous Cabinet had taken the extreme step of tying the insurance regarding planes to the national Budget since the flight path into MIA passes over the Gasco tanks. To this risk has now been added a further, perhaps more dangerous one.

The present administration has been downplaying the importance of the Interconnector, maybe because that was thought of by the preceding administration. This is foolish, for the Interconnector (now lamentably late by a year or so) offers clean energy without the risks posed by gas.

It was bad enough when Malta depended on the importation of coal and later Heavy Fuel Oil. Bad enough when the issues regarding Enemalta’s finances and administration were not properly addressed. To add this new imponderable has not made things any better.