Power crisis grips the nation, extended blackouts prompt public outcry

Friday night brought continued misery to several parts of the country as towns were left without electricity. 

Gudja, Rabat, Mdina, Dingli, Kalkara, Cospicua, Senglea, Vittoriosa, Swieqi, and Sliema all faced prolonged power cuts, which extended through the night and persisted into Saturday morning. 

The situation was not limited to the sister island, as various towns in Gozo, such as Nadur, Marsalforn, and Xagħra, also reported experiencing power outages.

Enemalta registered seven “major disturbances” of its network, mostly caused by cable faults.

The electricity provider said customers in parts of Dingli, Mdina, Rabat, Mtarfa, Ta’ Qali, Kalkara, Vittoriosa and Cospicua in Malta, and parts of Żebbuġ Xagħra and Nadur in Gozo should expect power thought the day.

According to Enemalta, just one power cut is planned for Saturday - scheduled maintenance in a number of streets in St Julian's between 8am and 5pm. 

Between 40 and 50 Enemalta engineers were said to have been constantly working on restoring power to households and businesses

In its statement on Saturday, Enemalta said its team is working day and night to restore power.

Enemalta CEO Jonathan Cardona said repairing cable faults took time.

Enemalta said people could report faults online, by calling 8007 2224 or by calling the Servizz.Gov Helpline 152. 

Customers can also subscribe to an SMS notification service by texting the account holder's ID card number to 79052492. 

This marks the sixth consecutive day of repeated power cuts, with Enemalta’s distribution system failing under the soaring heatwave temperatures.

On Saturday morning, the Nationalist Party said it received reports of various farm animals dying due to heat exhaustion caused by the hours-long power blackouts.

"Aside from the financial cost running into thousands of euros, this causes great suffering for the animals," the Agriculture spokesperson Toni Bezzina said. 

"What compensation will the government be offering these farmers?"

(Stock footage)

On social media, several spoke of repeated and prolonged power cuts which led people to sleep in their cars, and even outside.

In a bid to protect senior citizens, Active Ageing Ministry also offered respite by spending a day at state-run care homes.

The ministry is organising transport to and from the homes as part of the free service.