Some of the electricity cable joints damaged in the past days date back to colonial times, an Enemalta engineer working on repairs has said.
Engineer Chris Cutajar is one of several of the company's workers who have been labouring around the clock to fix dozens of cable faults that have caused power cuts across Malta and Gozo over the past nine days.
“Many are working overtime to repair the damages,” he said. “Everyone is doing their best.”
The engineer was about to oversee repair works in St Paul’s Bay after a cable joint burnt up when he spoke to Times of Malta on Tuesday.
Throughout the last nine days, power cuts have plagued Malta’s electric grid, with the country’s distribution network failing in many localities.
The power cuts come during Malta’s longest-ever heatwave, with daytime temperatures consistently exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.
Cutajar explained that Enemalta first identifies a fault through the control room or a resident’s report.
A van equipped with specialised technology then pinpoints the damage on the road, and the area is dug up before workers repair the faulty joint or cable.
“Joints are often the weak point, and so when you’re straining the system to the full, that will be the first to give way,” he said.
“Some joints date back to the British era.”
Asked why areas like Arizona, in the US, have not suffered persistent and extended power cuts despite experiencing hotter temperatures than Malta, Cutajar attributed it to “different conditions”.
“Even though they have high temperatures, they probably don’t strain the network the way it’s strained in Malta," he said. “Malta is an island, unlike Arizona.”
A cable repair usually takes about six hours, but it all depends on the road trench.
“Some road trenches have no other services, but others have drainage and telephone lines that create unexpected problems,” he said.
Enemalta has insisted that it is the heat, not extreme demand for electricity, that is causing faults on its high-voltage cables.
But the country may continue to experience power cuts even after temperatures cool down, Cutajar warned on Tuesday.
“We hope to see some changes from tomorrow, but one must understand that just like the ground takes time to heat up, there needs to be the same amount of time to release the heat that has accumulated over time,” engineer Chris Cutajar said.
“Just because the air freshens up a bit, it doesn’t mean that the ground and tarmac will automatically cool down,” he said.
Enemalta CEO Jonathan Cardona made a similar comment during a press briefing held later on Tuesday.