Tarxien worst affected after localised areas suffer power cuts

Parts of Tarxien were the worst affected after a number of localised areas experienced power cuts in the night between Monday and Tuesday.

“Enemalta’s reinforcement works on its network yesterday enabled engineers to swiftly start restoring power after six cable faults impacted multiple substations in localised areas at different times. In fact, 64% of affected customers were reconnected within 60 minutes,” an Enemalta spokesperson told MaltaToday.

MaltaToday contacted the state energy company after several residents reported power cuts of varying durations.

Tarxien was the worst hit with some reporting to have spent three hours without any electricity.

“In the Tarxien area, Enemalta’s technical team recommended deploying a generator, with supply being restored in just over three hours. The generator was deployed to ensure the area does not remain without power while emergency repairs are carried out,” the spokesperson said. MaltaToday is informed the generator has since been removed, and the locality’s residents are using electricity from the national grid.

Other localities, like Paola, Żabbar and Żejtun saw their power restored after five mins. Birkirkara and the Balzan areas saw power return after around 20 minutes.

Malta turned into ‘land of generators’ – PN

Reacting to the power cuts, the Nationalist Party said the summer has arrived and people are once again having to resort to reading by candlelight.

“We have now spent two years being promised a stable electricity service during the summer months, but it seems this summer will bring more of the same. This, despite the fact that the government and Minister Miriam Dalli assured us a solution had been found,” spokesperson Ryan Callus said. “After the so-called solution involving a temporary powerstation running on diesel-powered generators and rented generators placed outside people’s doors and beneath their bedroom windows, we were told that this summer would not see further electricity cuts.”

Callus said this is the result of a government “that does not plan ahead”.

“[This is] a government that fails to take seriously the urgent need to invest in infrastructure that meets the demands of an ever-growing population, a population growing without proper control, and whose strain is now collapsing our energy systems, just as summer begins,” he said. “And it is Maltese and Gozitan families who are paying the price, in the quality of their daily lives. Our country and our people deserve far better than a government in chaos – a government that has reduced Malta to a land of generators.”