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Malta’s energy minister warns: The energy crisis isn’t over
(EurActiv, 2 May 2024) In an interview with Euractiv, the Maltese energy minister warned against considering the European energy crisis over and laid out a vision of her island nation becoming the power connection between Europe and North Africa.
Miriam Dalli, the energy minister of Malta – a tiny island in the Mediterranean and the EU’s smallest member – spoke to Euractiv on the sidelines of the annual Abu Dhabi summit of IRENA, the renewable energy agency.
“The energy crisis isn’t over, prices remain higher than they were pre-COVID and markets are still very volatile,” warned Dalli.
Rapid price infection
Despite Malta’s geographical isolation, a surge in gas prices rapidly infected power prices even in the Mediterranean during Europe’s 2022 gas crisis.
“While LNG prices [the island’s main source of power generation] were quite stable due to a long-term contract” the connection to Italy where “20% of our electricity” comes from, ensured that “when prices in continental Europe surged, so did ours”.
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EurActiv, 2 May 2024: Malta’s energy minister warns: The energy crisis isn’t over