Enemalta’s leadership has said that a compensation scheme for those whose appliances are affected by power cuts is already in place, although Energy Minister Miriam Dalli said that the government’s €400 million energy subsidies are “the biggest compensation” people can have.
Dalli and the state energy company were asked by The Malta Independent about calls by both the Nationalist Party and former Labour Party secretary general Jason Micallef for people whose appliances are damaged owing to power cuts to get compensation.
This came after certain parts of Malta were hit by two successive nights of power cuts as a heatwave dominates southern Europe.
Enemalta blamed the heat – and not the electricity grid being overwhelmed – for the power cuts, saying that the weather is causing faults in certain electricity cables.
A number of people however have taken to social media to complain that they have suffered damages to their appliances owing to the power cuts while businesses have also had to throw away stock as a result.
Asked about this, Enemalta CEO Joe Cardona said that the company already has a compensation scheme in place, though he said that this only applies to fixed assets.
During a technical briefing on the power cuts, Cardona said that the application for compensation may be found online on Enemalta’s website.
Cardona said that when a new application comes in, a board will vet it together with the enclosed description of how the appliance had broken. If the conclusion is such that the appliance broke as a result of a power cut, compensation will be given.
However, he added that the company will also take into consideration how old the appliance is, and this will be reflected in the compensation given.
"We are not an open check but we have never closed doors," Enemalta chairman Ryan Fava said.
Energy Minister Miriam Dalli meanwhile said that the government is fully aware of the problems people are facing due to the ongoing power cut issues, but said that “the biggest compensation” which the people are getting is the €400 million which has been invested in subsidies to keep energy prices as they are.
In a Facebook post, Valletta Cultural Agency chief and the Labour Party's former Secretary General Jason Micallef had called for compensating clients affected by power cuts like those experienced over the past days by giving them discounts.
The PN has also highlighted how there needs to be a form of compensation for those affected, especially given that such a system is “already in place in developed countries” .
For more information on how to apply for compensation, one can visit this website; https://www.enemalta.com.mt/services/things-go-wrong/