Many localities in Malta and Gozo have been hit by a power cut, again, today, with the electricity fully restored hours after it was lost.
The live outage map on Enemalta's website shows multiple red dots where power cuts were experienced this morning.
In a statement more than one hour after the interruption, Enemalta said electricity supply is being progressively restored across affected areas, with power already restored in a number of localities following the activation of an automatic protection system designed to safeguard the national electricity system.
The system automatically reduces electricity demand when necessary to prevent wider disruptions and protect from more serious damage, the company said.
Malta is currently relying on local electricity generation, as the Malta-Sicily Interconnector (IC1) is temporarily switched off due to ongoing works in Sicily related to the second interconnector (IC2).
Following the activation, Enemalta immediately brought additional standby generation plants online to increase available capacity and restore electricity supply in a gradual and controlled manner. Enemalta said its technical teams continue to monitor the network closely to ensure grid stability as supply is restored to the remaining affected areas.
In a later statement, Enemalta said it had restored supply in full after the national grid's automatic protection system was activated earlier this morning, leading to temporary interruptions in a number of areas.
"During an intervention on a circuit breaker at the Magħtab Terminal Station, a human error caused the electricity system's automatic protection mechanism to be triggered," Enemalta said.
This temporarily reduced supply in parts of the network, it added.
These systems are designed to react instantaneously to safeguard the stability and integrity of the national grid and prevent more extensive disruption to critical infrastructure. Therefore, this was not caused by the generation plant. Enemalta can confirm that there are no issues related to generation and supply.
The same sequence also caused the regasification plant to shut down, temporarily affecting the gas supply to local generation facilities. Enemalta immediately brought standby generation plants online.
The regasification plant is now back online and gas-fired generation units are gradually returning to service.
People commenting on the social media are expressing their frustration at a problem that has been recurring all throughout summer and, now, beyond.
The first interconnetor to Sicily is currently switched off as preparations for the installation of the second interconnetor continue.
The massive power cut comes as Malta is hosting the global summit of the World Tourism and Travel Council in Valletta.
Over summer, Malta and Gozo suffered extensive and lengthy power cuts, attributed to demand for electricity as a result of a long heat wave.
But disruptions have continued even following the end of summer. The last extensive power cut was on 28 September when the Delimara power station tripped, resulting in a break of electricity supply in many areas.