Parts of Malta experiencing water shortages - Enemalta and WSC disagree on cause

Residents in some parts of Malta are experiencing water shortages due to what Enemalta called a planned outage. 

According to the Water Services Corporation (WSC), residents in Għargħur, Naxxar, Swieqi, Madliena and Ibraġġ are all experiencing water outages, while some parts of Iklin, San Ġwann, Birkirkara and Mosta are also affected. 

The WSC said that the service interruption started at around 9:00am and is expected to last until 1:00pm on Saturday, "due to Enemalta power failure."

Despite this, an Enemalta spokesperson told the media that the interruption was planned, as the outage was attributed to works on underground cables.

Enemalta is currently engaged in an ongoing effort to upgrade Malta's energy distribution network, following a series of power cuts across the country which persisted through some of the hottest days of last year.

The energy provider had recently requested an exemption from the obligatory environmental impact assessment for a new 60MW “temporary” diesel-powered “emergency plant” in Delimara. According to Enemalta's CEO, Malta would not have a secure energy supply next summer without the plant.

PN reacts to outages

Following the news, the Nationalist Party stated as was noted in the Jean Paul Sofia inquiry, the outages were a case where the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. 

The PN blasted the WSC's and Enemalta's lack of coordination despite the fact that they fall under the same ministry, as it questioned the reliability of Malta's distribution networks.

The PN said that it has a clear plan that can ensure stability all-year-round. The statement was signed by shadow minister for energy, Ryan Callus.