The record demands for electricity have put a strain on the distribution system, leading to frequent power cuts in various pockets of the country, Enemalta said yesterday.
In a technical press briefing on Friday, Corporation CEO Jason Vella said that demand for electricity reached a new record peak of 565 Mega Watt this week.
He explained that the demand for electricity well surpassed the pre-pandemic 2019 demand levels, when the peak demand stood at 510 Mega Watt.
Following reports in the past few days of power cuts in various parts of Malta, Vella said that the faults in the distribution system developed due to the strong heat impacting infrastructure, coupled with the increase in demand.
He said that the generation sources coped well with the peak demand, but the problems were in the distribution system.
Meanwhile, Vella said that in the past seven years, Enemalta invested €130 million in its distribution system as part of its action programme to strengthen the system. He announced that Enemalta will be accelerating this programme, both in terms of investment and maintenance so as to be of better service to consumers.
He explained that the main mitigation measures which Enemalta carried out during the outage included 180 personnel working 24/7 so that the company could respond immediately to the emergency, the deployment of generators as well as the suspension of schedule maintenance.
Recent major investments were carried out by Enemalta in localities including Paceville, St Andrews, Manoel Island, Marsa (North), Mrieħel, Delimara/Ħal Far, Ricasoli and Xewkija. Ongoing major investigations are being carried out in Tarxien and Wied il-Għajn.
Vella explained that overall, interruptions were addressed quickly as a result of the investments carried out by Enemalta over the past years. Almost 400 substations have been automated so that any damages to the system can be handled automatically, through Marsa’s control room, by switching to alternative cables.
Vella said that 71% of the power outages were restored in less than an hour during this heat wave.
Mosta, Naxxar and Marsascala were the locations which were hit the hardest by these power cuts.
Whilst giving an overview of the causes that led to the power cuts in the past few days, Vella remarked that in the summer period, Malta always experiences very high temperatures which lead to an increase in electricity demand.
Vella explained that in the case of Mosta and Marsaskala, multiple faults on the same network developed which limited the company’s ability to restore electricity as quickly as possible by providing supply through an alternative route.
The Nationalist party criticised the Labour government’s handling of the situation, saying that at a time when families needed stable electricity provision, the government game them darkness and heat.
It was also reported that the length power cuts which occurred also throughout the night forced some people to seek refuge in their airconditioned cars in a bid to avoid Malta’s summer heat.
Meanwhile, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli remarked that it is “unacceptable” that in this day and age Malta is experiencing power cuts with such frequency. She has demanded an explanation about the situation from Enemalta including identifying the weak points of the network in order to have a proper plan for a way forward.
Enemalta apologised for the power cuts and said that the company established a compensation mechanism. Consumers who feel they suffered financial losses as a result of the outages can file a claim.