Households that experienced power cuts of at least six hours in July have been compensated almost €3 million between them, figures provided to Times of Malta have revealed.
Back in July, power outages persisted for around 10 nights with residents of various localities reporting unusually long interruptions, in some cases up to 72 hours.
Enemalta had said at the time it was the result of the sustained and unprecedented heatwave that averaged more than 40ºC, affecting the electricity distribution system.
The palpable anger and repeated cuts forced the Energy Ministry to offer a one-time ex-gratia payment to compensate customers for the power outages.
A spokesperson for the ministry explained that a total of 36,145 residential accounts that had their supply interrupted for over six hours cumulatively during the July 17 to 27 period automatically received a credit to their utility bills based on the average consumption of households during the corresponding three-month period of last year.
The credit, adding up to a total of €2,819,630, is equivalent to the average monthly consumption of households.
The compensation increased according to the hours of interrupted service.
The spokesperson said that 5,328 account holders who had a power interruption of six to eight hours, received €60, while 5,931 accounts received €70 for spending more than eight but less than 12 hours without electricity.
Those who spent more than 12 but up to 24 hours without electricity received an €80 payout. There are a total of 16,742 account holders in this category. A total of 7,102 accounts did not have electricity for between 24 and 36 hours. They each received €90.
Another 838 account holders received €100 for spending between 36 and 48 hours without power, while 204 account holders received the maximum amount of €110 for spending more than 48 hours without electricity.
Consumers were also given the opportunity to apply online, through the ARMS website. A total of 1,443 residential and domestic applications have been submitted. The application period is open until the end of the year.
Businesses (non-residential accounts) affected by interruptions were also eligible for the one-time ex-gratia payment, equivalent to one-month consumption calculated on the actual average consumption of that account in June, July and August 2022.
The payment amount increases gradually depending on the number of hours impacted, capped at a maximum of €10,000 per account. The scheme was discussed with all relevant stakeholders, who supported it.
A total of 561 applications were submitted by business account holders. These are currently being reviewed by Enemalta’s technical team to ensure correct compensation.
Malta Enterprise is also providing assistance to business customers, the spokesperson said.
Enemalta provides electricity to more than 290,500 residences and 52,700 non-residential properties.