Enemalta zaps allegation that electricity meter caused Iklin garage fire

Electricity supplier Enemalta has rebutted claims of responsibility for a fire that destroyed a garage in Iklin last year, hinting that the fire could have been caused by tampering with the meter or by overloading of the mains caused by faulty wiring, and not a defective meter, as was alleged.

On Tuesday, a father and son whose garage was gutted by a fire in October last year demanded tens of thousands of euros in compensation from Enemalta. The fire caused structural damages to the garage-cum-workshop in Triq Ġuże Ellul Mercer, Iklin and its contents – a Hyundai and a long list of specialised mechanic's tools – were destroyed.

In their judicial letter, filed before the First Hall of the Civil Court by lawyer Emmy Bezzina, 62-year-old Augustine Bonnici and his son Roderick, 32, had said that Enemalta, the Commissioner of Police, the Attorney General, the Minister for Justice and ARMS were responsible for the resulting damage, which they estimated at €81,000.


That letter claimed that a court-appointed expert had told them that the cause of the fire had been a defective electricity meter, but Enemalta, in a reply filed today by lawyer Stefano Filletti, points out that the magisterial inquiry into the fire had not reached a conclusion yet.

The electricity supplier said it was puzzled as to how the Bonnicis had reached their conclusion before the court's investigations had even finished.

Enemalta pointed out that the meter in question had been installed since 2012 and had never been reported as faulty. “Electricity meters installed by the company are rigorously tested and it is highly improbable that a meter was the cause of the fire...Above all, electrical fires are usually caused by overloads or bad wiring installations. The function of the electricity meter is only to measure consumption,” the reply reads.

The company said that tests needed to be carried out to establish what type of electrical setup had been installed in the garage and whether this was in conformity with the applicable laws.

In its reply, Enemalta said that it reserved the right to take action of its own against the Bonnicis, saying that it was currently in the process of establishing a relationship between the consumption registered on the meter - which is understood to be low - and the use of the long list of power tools that the Bonnicis claim were destroyed when the garage caught fire.