A staggering 28 power cuts have been experienced in six days, mainly in residential areas.

Enemalta chief executive Jason Vella told reporters on Tuesday this was mainly because many Maltese were spending more time at home.

Faults to the grid were registered all across Malta and Gozo with the central localities of Birkirkara and Naxxar, as well as Gudja in the south having experienced particularly problematic damage. 

He pointed to shifting lifestyles due to the COVID-19 pandemic as a leading cause. 

He said that as Maltese spent less time in tourism and leisure hotspots this summer, there was an increased demand for electricity in residential areas. 

The hot summer temperatures are an annual cause of faults to the island’s aging power grid, and the energy provider said this year was no different. 

“The heat is a problem every summer, our grid has some old sections and those are the areas that find it most difficult to cope with the heat. This year demand in residential areas increased,” Vella said. 

Enemalta runs 1,600 distribution sub-stations spread across the island with some 5,000 kilometres of subterranean cables delivering power to homes and businesses. 

Since July 30, five teams of engineers had been working around the clock to return to normal service provision. 

In most cases (80%), power was out for less than an hour. 

There were a considerable number of clients, however, who spent more than 60 minutes in the dark.

Vella said power generators had been plugged in to the network to provide power during repair works but reconnecting to the grid once the faults were repaired entails yet another temporary power cut. 

Some households also experience power fluctuations although most would not have had any of their electrical appliances damaged.

Energy Minister Michael Farrugia said the government was exploring options to upgrade the national grid, with the oldest parts being targeted over the next two years.