Enemalta is upgrading electricity infrastructure servicing Baħrija and surrounding areas, replacing overhead lines with an underground cable and modernising substations.

The first phase of the €1 million project, which involved the laying of a 2km, 11KV underground cable, has already been completed.

The cable replaces overhead power lines that connect Baħrija to the national grid. Those exposed cables were often damaged in winter months, causing electricity outages to affected residents.

In the project’s second phase, Enemalta will be modernising a number of substations and connecting new lines to ensure a more stable supply for Baħrija residents and businesses.

The Energy Ministry said that around 670 families and businesses in Baħrija and its surrounding areas will benefit from the infrastructural upgrades.

Energy Minister Miriam Dalli said the project is one of several that Enemalta undertook in the past months.

“Despite the pandemic, Enemalta last year installed more than 10,200 new services for families and businesses. The demand for new services has nearly doubled since 2013, when the demand for new services amounted to just over 5,000,” she said.

The Enemalta investment push comes after widespread power outages last summer led to widespread complaints. The agency’s then-CEO, Jason Vella, had apologised for the power cuts and pledged to invest more in the company’s distribution network.

Speaking at a press conference about the Baħrija works, Enemalta’s current CEO Jonathan Scerri said the company had fast-tracked projects for some key communities, following a detailed grid analysis by company engineers.

He cited various examples of recent works: from the installation of a low voltage regulator in Dingli to the laying of several kilometres of cables in Qreni last week.

“Other works aimed at reinforcing our distribution system were done in Siġġiewi, Żurrieq, Luqa, Żebbuġ and Mosta. Reinforcement works are being done or are planned in other localities such as Għajnsielem, Marsascala and Kalkara,” he added.

Rabat mayor Sandro Craus said that Baħrija had been “abandoned” for several years and had been left without a drainage system until the Labour government was elected into power in 2013.