Enemalta is in talks with its insurers over the faulty interconnector, but it has not yet established the extent of the damage caused by a ship’s anchor.

A survey on the submarine cable connecting the Maltese national grid to the European energy network has confirmed that in December, an anchor dislodged the cable from the trench on the seabed, snapping it in the process.

Since then, the interconnector has been completely out of action and will take an indefinite amount of time to fix.

Times of Malta had been told that the cable lies on a sandy seabed that cannot be trenched. Through jetting process technology, the seabed was spread to a depth of 1.5 metres, the submarine cable was laid down, and then covered by sand.  

“To date, the extent of the damage and what actions need to be taken to start the repair process are being established,” a spokesperson said on Wednesday.

“We wish to assure, however, that all efforts are being done to start the repair process in the shortest possible time.”

Asked what action was Enemalta taking to avoid a repeat of the incident, the spokesperson said the interconnector was laid in the seabed according to industry standards and, after repairs were carried out, “it will be re-instated accordingly”.

The spokesperson added that Enemalta, which owned the interconnector, was in talks with its insurers “to carry out all necessary action to secure our legal rights”.

Malta has suffered several power outages over the past few weeks, with Enemalta admitting there may be further brief power cuts lasting minutes at a time.

Until the interconnector is fixed, Enemalta’s contingency plan, which costs €150,000 a day, is powering all available turbines to reduce interruptions.

Residents and businesses have complained of faults in appliances caused by the power cuts, with Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and the Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises calling for compensation.

The power company has refused to say whether it has received any requests for compensation since November.

When contacted, a spokesperson told Times of Malta that as per normal practice, Enemalta considered all consumer complaints it received on a case-by-case basis.