Enemalta restoring security of supply following Tuesday blackout

Enemalta today said it was working to provide alternative connections to areas supplied by the Marsa Distribution Centre to re-establish security of supply to customers in this region.

Areas that were connected to the grid through cables and equipment damaged during Tuesday’s fire at the distribution centre had to be temporarily linked through other connections.

The company said this was done to provide electricity supply to all areas in the shortest time possible. However, this emergency intervention is placing further strain on other parts of the grid in the same region and Enemalta warned that there may be other localised disruptions in the areas supplied by this distribution centre.

Damage to cables linking up to the distribution centre in Marsa on Tuesday evening caused a fire which, in turn, led to an explosion. The Marsa and Delimara power stations were automatically turned off as a precautionary ‘safety trip’ and the nationwide outage ensured.

Whilst power was restored to most localities by the late hours of Tuesday night and early hours of Wednesday morning, some localities were left without electricity as late as Wednesday afternoon.

The extensive damage caused to the distribution centre has limited the availability of alternative distribution channels in the region and Enemalta is now working to restore these alternative connections to be in a better position to swiftly adapt to any other unexpected faults without disrupting supply.

“These measures would also help to recover the grid’s flexibility and stability and to alleviate the pressure on connections currently in use. Additional resources are being allocated to complete these works as soon as possible,” the company said.

Enemalta commended the efforts of its employees who immediately responded to this emergency and are working around the clock to carry out the necessary works to secure electricity supply in the area.    

Moreover, Enemalta regretted any inconvenience caused following Tuesday’s emergency and reiterated its commitment to the continued investment in the country’s generation and distribution systems to increase flexibility and minimise the risk of supply disruptions.