Complaints about poor electricity supply causing household appliances to act in strange ways have poured in from several localities after Times of Malta highlighted the problems in Għajnsielem last week.

Residents in parts of Għargħur, Safi, Żebbuġ, Żurrieq, Mġarr, Xagħra, Sannat,  and San Lawrenz reported that the power supply to their house dips during cold days and in the evenings – when many turn on their heaters – and this forces them to choose which appliances to use.

Last week, Times of Malta carried a story about 50 Għajnsielem families who claim their electricity supply fluctuates so badly they are unable to live normally in their homes.

They reported flickering bulbs, ovens that take twice as long to cook food, washing machines that don’t switch on, water heaters unable to function adequately, lifts that refuse to work or get stuck between floors and even total blackouts every few minutes.

“I read the article and it was like it was written about me,” said Joe Camilleri, of Mġarr (Malta).

“My situation is a carbon copy of theirs. We have frequent power cuts and the bulbs flicker like Christmas lights.”

In Sannat, Joseph Cassar said his family is sometimes forced to have dinner under very dim lighting because, no matter how many bulbs they switch on, there is just not enough power in the grid.

And Michael Bajada, of Xagħra, said his family must shower before settling down to watch television on their new flat-screen because the locality’s weak electricity supply will not allow them to heat water at the same time.

San Lawrence mayor Noel Formosa said his small village had been struggling with this same problem for 15 years and,  for some households, fluctuations were the order of the day, almost daily.

A Għargħur resident said neighbours recently lost a dishwasher and a tumble drier due to power surges.

Residents in Żurrieq said they had been monitoring their voltage for the past weeks and noticed that the supply runs low when people return from work in the evening while it sometimes surges to higher than 255 volts during the day.

Malta operates on a 230-voltage supply. Most residents said they had installed an ‘over and under’ device to their meters, which senses when supply fluctuates. This would make Enemalta liable to any damages they might incur if appliances malfunction due to fluctuations within that range.

However, residents claim that supply frequently dips way lower and way higher than what Enemalta is liable to.

What is Enemalta doing?

Invariably, some say that when they contact Enemalta to seek help or guidance, they are greeted by very friendly staff but the situation never seems to get resolved.

Others say they are given a tester which supposedly monitors their fluctuations. Several noted that Enemalta had reclaimed the tester after two weeks, only to never hear from the company again.

Residents blame the fluctuation on rampant overdevelopment, saying the national grid was not meant to withstand the many new housing units that are being erected everywhere.

“We are paying hefty utility bills but we’re not getting value for our money,” a resident said.

Following the story about Għajnsielem, Enemalta service vehicles could be seen scouting the locality the following day.

New substations by June

In reply to questions about Għajnsielem, Enemalta said it was working on the cables to help mitigate residents’ difficulties for the time being.

As for the long term, it said it will have invested in two new substations for Għajnsielem by June in order to keep up with the increasing demand in the locality.

“Administrative and technical work on the first substation is complete and excavation of trenches for cables of medium voltage is expected to start in February,” a spokesperson for the company said.

The company said works on the second substation are “at an advanced stage”.

Questions sent about other localities, however, have remained unanswered.