Updated 1pm

The weekend meant a late night out for several who could not take another hour of sweltering heat, as power went out across some localities for the sixth night in a row.

Times of Malta readers from Sliema and Rabat reported an outage that by Sunday morning had lasted over 30 hours.

"Thirty-six hours and counting, and we are still without power," a Tigne resident said.

"It seems that the substation handling the load of this part of Tigne can't cope and they have given up on reconnecting us. God help us."

Other parts of Sliema reported an outage just after Sunday at 12pm.

A Rabat resident said his family has not had electricity for at least 30 hours.

"Power was restored in parts of Rabat on Saturday night, but some of us around this neighbourhood remain without supply."

He said his wife was on hold with Enemalta for 55 minutes, while he spent another 40 minutes on the line.

"No answer. We are desperate! We need help," he said.

A San Ġwann resident meanwhile reported they spent the fourth consecutive night without power on Triq il-Kunċizzjoni.

Another resident who also lives on Triq il-Kunċizzjoni claimed there are power issues in 26 streets in the locality. 

They said that while, throughout the night, the streets were lit up, electricity in the houses on these same roads was out.

And Gudja residents gave up on waiting for the power to return: they had to leave their houses and either go for a ride in their cars with the AC on, or sleep with relatives who had power.

By Sunday morning, residents in the same locality said they had not had power for 18 hours.

One Gudja reader meanwhile noted that despite several hours without power, the outages were not showing up on Enemalta's interactive online map that flags power cuts across the islands.

"I have tried calling Enemalta on each day that the power cuts happened and every time I get no response, oftentimes not even a ringtone. The calls drop off... What a shambles this country has become," she said. 

On Saturday night, Swieqi residents complained of an outage since at least Thursday night.

In Dingli, power had been out for at least 21 hours, another reader said on Saturday night.

He reported that over the past four days, residents had experienced a total of 42 hours without power. "I hate to moan, but this is not on," he said.

And in Naxxar, eatery owners were reportedly in tears, having to turn away patrons when the power went out after 7.30pm, peak business time for restaurants.

According to the Met Office, the heatwave that gripped the island last week will continue unabated at least until Tuesday.

The office issued a red warning, alerting people that thermometers will on Sunday will read a maximum of 41°C but it will actually feel as hot as 43°C. 

Senior citizens trapped at home with no electricity during the ongoing heatwave are being offered a day of respite at state-run care homes.

Those interested in the service can call 22788491/2/3 or email silvert@gov.mt between 8am and 5pm.  

Late yesterday, Enemalta said it was "racing against time" to repair damages to its underground high-voltage cable network.

Since Monday, the company registered 52 underground high voltage cable faults in Malta and another eight in Gozo. Enemalta engineers and technicians have already repaired more than half of them.

Several teams are working round the clock to repair all remaining faults as soon as possible. In most cases, electricity supply to customers affected by these cable faults would have already been provided through alternative cable connections in the same area, the energy company said.

In the early hours on Sunday, it posted a photo on its Facebook page, captions "... and the work continues".

Photo: Enemalta Facebook

Electricity supply caused by high voltage cable faults restored

In an update just before 1pm on Sunday, Enemalta said it had restored electricity supply to all customers affected by the high voltage cable faults.

During the night, Enemalta completed repairs on a high-voltage cable in Attard to restore supply to customers in parts of Rabat, Dingli and Mtarfa. In Gozo, repair works on another cable supplying parts of Nadur were completed as well.

Its workers were currently repairing damages caused by the high temperatures of the ongoing heatwave.

In the meantime, technicians will continue to respond to requests for assistance from customers impacted by smaller faults that may affect individual buildings, parts of a street or similar small areas, it said in a statement.

Enemalta explained that when a high voltage network fault is registered, the company launches works to restore supply to customers in the affected areas.

In many cases, these areas can be reconnected to the grid through alternative cable connections. However, when multiple faults affect different cables supplying the same area within a short period of time, restoration of supply to the affected customers may not be possible until lengthy underground cable repairs are completed.

When faults impact a single substation and repairs need more time, Enemalta uses large generators as a standby power system to provide electricity to the affected customers while repairs are in progress.

While it is not always technically possible to use such systems, in the last few days generators were used to reduce outage times in Żabbar, Żurrieq, Dingli, Msida, Żebbuġ, Mellieħa and Għajnsielem.

Enemalta CEO Jonathan Cardona meanwhile thanked Enemalta employees for working round the clock to restore the electricity supply.

On Sunday, the prime minister said the government was looking into launching a scheme that would allow people to apply for compensation for damage caused by the power cuts.

Robert Abela said the scheme would be separate from any Enemalta initiatives. 

Screengrab: Facebook

Meanwhile, several people took to Facebook to vent, with one comment by Minister for Inclusion Julia Farrugia Portelli infuriating some social media users.

Farrugia Portelli was replying to a social media user, who left a comment under a photo of herself with her daughter at the Mtarfa public library.

The man complained that while politicians were posing for photos, citizens were fed up with their behaviour. Following a day at work, he said, people returned home to a power outage and lack of water service.

Farrugia Portelli said she too had suffered a power cut. She acknowledged it was not a pleasant experience and suggested reading a book until power returned.

Small parties organise protests

Green party ADPD will meanwhile hold a protest outside parliament in Valletta on Thursday.

The party said it will be protesting the corruption, incompetence and carelessness that are leading to the unbearable situation of repeated and long power cuts.

ADPD will demand accountability.

"It is evident that the country is on its knees due to continuous power cuts. This means a huge burden on families and businesses.

"Everyone is affected, but the most affected are the vulnerable who are already crushed by inflation and wages that do not meet their basic needs. Instead of costly massive projects and an economic policy based on overdevelopment and speculation, which led to an overburdened and inadequate infrastructure we demand a well-being economy," the party said in a statement.

The local political party Abba also announced its own protest during which they will be calling for people to shoulder political responsibility.

The protest, set to be held on Tuesday at 7pm, will also urge for compensation for damage caused by the outage.