Residential homes that spent more than 12 hours without electricity during last week's nationwide blackout will receive a €25 payment as compensation, Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi announced this evening. The decision was taken by cabinet this morning and will affect some 8,000 households.

Businesses will also get compensation but the government still has to decide on the amount. The €25 payment for households, he said, would make a lot of difference because it was a week's supply of groceries.

Dr Mizzi made the announcement during a visit to the Marsa distribution centre, where an underground cable fault led to an explosion and the subsequent shut-down of the Delimara power station. 

Breaking a weeklong silence after the mishap, Dr Mizzi said that it there is a possibility that such a blackout occurs again, but the government is doing its utmost for it not to be repeated and, in case it does, for the power cut not to last so long.

The investigation into what caused the total blackout is still to be concluded. Emergency precautions that were supposed to have kicked in when the blackout occurred either did not function or else were not enough.