Malta substation fire causes power outage
The fire led to a power outage affecting thousands of customers, raising concerns about the stability of the network.
Image for illustration purposes.
Malta, Gżira: A fire at an Enemalta substation in Gżira on Monday afternoon led to a power outage affecting 3276 customers. The incident has raised concerns about the stability of Malta’s distribution network amid recent power cuts.
Enemalta confirmed that the fire started around 1 pm in a substation located in a private apartment block. The service was returned to the majority of customers in less than an hour. Until necessary repairs can be completed, the company is working to provide an alternative source of electricity supply on a temporary basis.
The cause of the fire hasn’t been specified. Malta has been grappling with a series of power outages in various locations. According to Enemalta, these issues are not due to a lack of electricity generation capacity but rather due to issues in the distribution network.
To address the challenges, a new €37 million emergency generation plant recently arrived at the Malta Freeport. The 60 MW diesel-powered plant is expected to be fully operational by mid-August and could be a temporary solution until the completion of a second electricity interconnector between Malta and Sicily.
Source: Newsbook Malta