Enemalta cannot guarantee power cuts will not continue as heatwave persists

Enemalta cannot guarantee there will be no more power cuts as the heatwave over Malta persists, Enemalta CEO Jonathan Cardona said on Thursday.

He said the company was trying to restore electricity in Birkirkara by 7pm tonight but the persistent heat was causing several faults in underground cables.

However, Cardona said the situation was more complicated in Żurrieq and neighbouring localities since works to ensure far less down time when faults erupt still had two more days to be completed.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday afternoon, Cardona said the soaring heat was persisting for a longer period than usual, uncovering defects in underground cables.

Over the past three days, as Malta sizzled in a heatwave, power cuts have affected several areas of the country.

When asked about localities like Naxxar, Mosta, and neighbouring areas, which have been enduring power cuts for hours on end, Cardona said that Enemalta is working to remedy the situation as soon as possible.

Reiterating what he told journalists on Thursday, Cardona explained the faults are not due to overloads.

He confirmed that Malta has reached yet another new record of 624MW during peak hours. The first time the output exceeded 600MW was on Wednesday when it stood at 604MW.

"The national system is capable of providing 830MW, and we can assure you that overloading is not an issue," he said when pressed on the matter.

‘Malta is not rationing electricity supply’

Enemalta has not been “rationing” electricity supply, Enemalta chairman Ryan Fava said, contradicting claims made by Opposition energy spokesperson Mark Anthony Sammut.

“Enemalta is shifting the energy load on different substations, to make good for any outages in the surrounding areas,” he explained.

Earlier on Thursday, Sammut accused Enemalta of resorting to the extreme measure of ‘load shedding’ by intentionally disconnecting various areas from the electricity grid to prevent the system from collapsing.

Two years ago Enemalta pledged to accelerate investment in its distribution network, following similiar powercuts.

Fava said most of the faults encountered recently were on older cables.

READ ALSO: Mark Anthony Sammut | ‘Malta just like Pakistan’ says MP as Enemalta sheds load by disconnecting power