Utilities of Malta
Power
Malta produces nearly all of its electricity via two oil-fuelled power stations at Delimara and Marsa, which have a total capacity of around 570 MW. The stations are fully dependent on imported oil to generate power, with Egypt and Libya being among the country’s largest oil suppliers. Other electricity sources are being explored in order for Malta to meet the EU’s target of ten per cent of energy consumption coming from renewable sources by 2020. This has prompted the development of solar and wind power, such as the construction of a 95 MW wind farm at Sikka l-Bajda.
The state-owned company Enemalta, which sets tariffs for industrial, commercial and domestic use, currently provides electricity in Malta. Enemalta’s Gas Division and Petroleum Division were floated on the stock exchange in 2006, with Shanghai Electric among the shareholders holding a minority stake.
Water
Water and electricity production in Malta are closely linked, mainly because half of Malta’s water supply comes from desalination plants, which in turn rely on electricity to operate. Malta’s utilities (Enemalta and the Water Services Corporation) are state-owned. The Water Services Corporation is responsible for water supply and management, along with pipe maintenance and sewerage. Every house in Malta is metered for water and electricity as part of a ‘smart grid’, allowing households to maximise the efficiency of their usage.
Telecoms
Since 1993 the Maltese telecoms industry has been subject to various reforms, leading to the state-owned Maltacom being privatised to form a new company, Go Mobile, in 2006. Many of these reforms were instituted by the Malta Communications Authority, which continues to regulate the industry. There are now two main players in Malta’s liberalised mobile telecoms industry: Vodaphone Malta and Go Mobile. These two companies hold over 80 per cent of market share, while the next largest firm, Melita Mobile, holds nearly ten per cent (2011). Go Mobile and Melita Mobile shared most of the country’s internet service provision in 2010, holding around 80 per cent of Malta’s broadband subscriptions between them. To support the Maltese economy, the government has started building SmartCity Malta, which is based on Dubai’s Internet City and due to be completed in 2021.