A power surge resulting from a faulty Enemalta cable last Thursday caused widespread damage to electrical appliances in a block of apartments in Ta’ Xbiex with one family estimating it suffered some €4,000 in losses.

The surge, which happened at around 11.15 p.m., damaged television sets, cable TV boxes, DVDs, mobile and computer chargers, telephones, routers and air conditioners, affecting residents living in a block of apartments in Sir Ugo Mifsud Street.

“The lights flickered frantically and appliances started to spark before the electricity went out,” a resident told The Sunday Times yesterday.

“When it happened my wife panicked and we both ran outside not knowing what was happening. Even the street light suddenly shone brighter and then burnt out,” the man said, amazed that a small piece of wire could cause so much ­damage.

Enemalta employees were on site some time later localising the fault to an overhead cable that supplied electricity to the building. The damaged cable was repaired there and then but residents are now demanding compensation from Enemalta.

“We compiled a list of damaged items and filled in the relevant documentation, but the Enemalta employees who were on site were not too encouraging about whether we would get our money back,” the resident said.

Accidents do happen, he added, but Enemalta was the service provider and the residents had a right to compensation. The family will tomorrow bring over an electrician to check whether the surge affected the apartment’s wiring system.

Another foreign resident said he had to buy a new router to be able to access the internet and kept the receipt, hoping he would be compensated.

“I also lost a telephone set, a mobile phone charger and my cable company came to change my TV box at a cost,” he said, keeping hisfingers crossed that Enemalta would compensate him for the damage.

An electricity surge caused by an act of vandalism on an Enemalta substation in Cospicua last month led to widespread damage in a whole neighbourhood. A bedroom in one home went up in flames after the television exploded.

A man was subsequently charged with causing tens of thousands of euros worth of damage to around 50 households after allegedly stealing electric cables from the substation and causing a power surge as a result.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com