Enemalta on Saturday announced a €90 million investment to “ensure better supply of electricity in Maltese homes and buildings”, as well as the improvement of certain equipment and the quality of electricity reaching people’s homes.

Speaking at the launch, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development Miriam Dalli said that as the economy in Malta grows, so does the demand for electricity, and so the generation and distribution of power must be strengthened to cater for all needs.

“We are committed alongside Enemalta to address each issue of power cuts and the changes needed to be made to older equipment in certain localities,” Dalli said, adding that there is a focus on urgent zones.

Dalli said that the plan aims to also address challenges of reducing environmental impact in a sustainable manner. She added that this investment will improve electricity distribution in the country whilst keeping electricity prices stable.

Enemalta chairman Jonathan Scerri said that the demand for electricity increases with the economic growth of the country. The demand is expected to increase by 25% in the coming years, he said.

The process for the laying of a second inter-connecter with Sicily which will double the capacity of importation of electricity from 200 megawatts to 400 megawatts has started, Scerri said. The plan will include an investment of €6 million, expected to be finalized in 2024, which includes a new circuit of 132kV which connects the Magħtab terminal station to the centre of distribution in Mosta, Scerri said. This will include the diversification of cables which connect the inter-connector with the national grid and ensure an increase in electricity supply, he added.

A new centre of distribution of 45 megawatt will be built in Naxxar. This will distribute more stable electricity to the central part of the country and will be connected to the centre in Mosta, an investment which will amount to €8 million, Scerri said.

Scerri announced that Enemalta will be expanding the distribution centres of Mrieħel, Tarxien and Marsascala, as well as upgrade the transformers of the Tarxien centre, with another investment of €6 million.

There will be an increase of around 40 or 50 new substations in Malta, meaning the secondary level of distribution where high levels of voltage are changed to a safer level of electricity to be used in homes and businesses, Scerri said. By 2027, there will be 1,900 substations from the current 1,650 in 2022, he added.

€6 million will be allocated to modernize the existent substations, which will also be equipped with systems of automated remote switching so that workers can operate the networks from the terminal station in Marsa, Scerri said. This will ensure that in the event of a power cut, the power would be restored within minutes. By 2027, half of the substations in Malta will be equipped with automated remote switching.

€10.5 million will be invested in the strengthening of the stability of networks where there will be a substantial increase of new circuits in networks of 11 and 33kV, Scerri said.

€15 million will be allocated towards the bettering of the service and quality of electricity towards people’s homes, he said.  There are ongoing works in several localities such as Baħrija, Siġġiewi and Żurrieq to better the lines of power distributions, Scerri added.

New technology will be introduced with the installation of line voltage regulators, which will regulate the voltage of electricity which arrives at people’s homes, he said.

The aims of the plan include a system which copes with the demand of electricity, an increase in the supply and quality of electricity, as well as the reduction of interferences while ensuring that in such cases, these disruptions are managed in the shortest amount of time, Scerri said.