Enemalta has installed 14 diesel-powered generators in various localities around Malta to cope with another power-cut crisis amid a heatwave.
Executive chairman Ryan Fava told a news conference that the generators are safe and that residents have nothing to worry about.
Flanked by Energy Minister Miriam Dalli, Fava told a news briefing that five of these generators are owned by Enemalta while another nine are being sub-contracted from as yet unnamed third parties.
“More generators are on the way after a tender was awarded. These units will be on standby and will be used only if necessary.”
“They are switched on for a few hours at a time when electricity trips so as to ensure that supply is made available while our people can work in a safe environment. We are trying our utmost not to let people in pitch black for hours at a time.”
An average of 5,000 clients were left without power supply between Friday and Saturday especially in western Gozo, as well as certain areas in Sliema Gżira and St Julian's as problems on the electricity distribution network persisted due to a rise in temperatures.
According to Fava, as temperatures soared at the beginning of last week, Enemalta registered an increase in load between 25MW and 30MW.
Generation is not the problem, however. It is the distribution network that is proving a challenge for Enemalta and last year's challenges foretold the current situation.
Miriam Dalli said that after the spate of power cuts that affected several localities around Malta in the summer of 2023, Enemalta addressed issues with the distribution network in several localities from Dingli, Rabat, Naxxar, Mosta, Kottonera, Żurrieq and Kirkop.
“This year we are reaping the rewards of the works carried out during the first phase as these localities have only been hit by minor power cuts.”
Challenged with the NAO’s report on Enemalta which shows that over the past 10 years, the corporation underspent €60 million in the high-voltage end of its distribution network, Fava acknowledged that “the works on the distribution network should have been more aggressive”.
However, he argued that the distribution network should be looked at as a whole and not in piecemeal fashion.
Dalli continued that whenever asked to, the government had allocated the required funds for Enemalta to spend as it deemed fit.
“I am certain that the experts took informed decisions and prioritised the low voltage network accordingly," she said.
Enemalta’s planning department has identified the areas around Buġibba, St Paul’s Bay and Qawra, St Julian's, Sliema and Gżira; Birkirkara and Attard; and Żebbuġ and Qormi as areas that require further investment in the distribution network
Fava said that “some works involving low voltage feeder cables have already started, but the bulk of the works will be carried out in the less critical months of the year, when the demand for electricity returns to normal levels.”
Both Dalli and Fava thanked Enemalta’s workers for doing their utmost to re-install supply in the shortest possible time-frames.