Malta-Sicily interconnector active by beginning of 2014 – Fenech

The interconnector is planned to be up and running by early 2014. The cable will land at the Magthab terminal station, where it will then be linked to other distribution centres around the island.

Works on the interconnector are expected to begin this August from Malta’s end.

The interconnector project involves a total investment of €200 million, with a further €75 million invested in bolstering Malta’s distribution network.

Finance minister Tonio Fenech said that the requirements of a distribution network are often oversimplified, but in fact a hefty infrastructure is needed.

€11 million alone has been invested in the Kappara distribution centre. This centre will service the localities of St Julians, Sliema and the surrounding areas.

Fenech said that once the interconnector is up and running, Malta will have a generation capacity of 690MW. To put this into perspective, the peak demand in summer is usually around 420-430MW.

Further to this, the interconnector will have a redundant capacity of 160Mw for a one-hour period.

“Night tariffs will be introduced as soon as the interconnector is functional. The smart meters already in place in households and businesses will allow for minute by minute monitoring of electrical consumption,” Fenech said.

The night tariffs are expected to introduce a saving of 7-26% between the hours of 10pm and 6am.

Works at the Kappara roundabout have been completed and traffic is flowing normally.