Let’s start with the most serious issue. Some unions say safety problems have been reported in the past. Was there a safety issue at the Bargi power station?
“Absolutely not. But to make you understand better, I tell you that the work to technologically update the power plant started in September 2022. It was not work to repair safety deficits or to deal with emergencies. They were extensively planned. Subsequently, in December 2022 we held – in the presence of union representatives as required by law – a meeting on safety, health and the environment relating to the hydroelectric power plants in this area of Italy. The meeting ended with 11 pages of minutes. Do you want to know what the Uil safety and environment representative says in that report?”
What?
«It says: “Mr… also congratulates and declares himself satisfied with the level of attention of the production unit on safety issues”. Do you think this statement is in line with any safety issues?”.
Salvatore Bernabei is the CEO of Enel Green Power. He arrived at the station on Tuesday afternoon and never moved again. Zero rest, infinite tiredness, displeasure and emotion galore. But also irritation at accusations or inferences that he considers unfair. He responds quickly before meeting the relatives of one of the victims recovered yesterday afternoon.
Engineer Bernabei, in this massacre we are once again talking about “subcontracting”. «Look. We are the client. Each company to which we commission the work, within precise rules, can organize resources and means as it deems most effective to best carry out the work. Bear in mind that it is not easy to find highly qualified personnel for this type of activity. In this case, as I have already said, we have chosen leading companies in the sector, namely Abb, Siemens Energy and Voith. Abb did everything with its own staff, Siemens also made use of two specialized companies and Voith one”.
Is it normal for this to happen?
“Yes. It works like this. It is unlikely that one has 100 percent of the skills internally. Using partners is normal, it is not an exception. But we are not faced with “a chain” of subcontractors, as I have read from many places. Talking about a chain evokes multiple stratified levels of subcontracting and instead here we have only one level. We as clients entrust contractors with the responsibility of carrying out the work according to quality criteria, which is why we choose the best”.
Are you telling us that if any of the companies present at the plant when the explosion occurred were responsible, you would be among those damaged?
“Exactly. And I would like to add one more thing.”
Please.
«We are certainly not in the presence of a race to the bottom. Because the most important issue is that the companies we appoint satisfy the technical requirements, even before the economic ones.”
Can you tell us how many companies were present in the plant when the accident happened?
«There were staff from six companies, including Enel Green Power, to attend the works. In all about fifteen workers.”
Is it common to see former Enel employees for this type of job?
«Precisely because it is a sector in which specialization is very high and suitable professional figures are not easily found, sometimes it can happen. But I have read falsehoods about this. It is not true, for example, that there was a 73 year old person registered for VAT. He was an entrepreneur, owner of one of the companies appointed by Siemens.”
Do you have an idea of how it might have gone?
“At this moment it is premature to make any kind of hypothesis.”
