Enemalta fire causes power cut

Enemalta plc employees worked throughout the night to repair extensive network damages after a fire at one of the company’s electricity distribution tunnels disrupted supply to customers in parts of St Julian’s and nearby localities early yesterday morning.

Enemalta said yesterday that the St Andrew’s Distribution Centre was re-energised earlier today, and the few customers who were still being affected by last night’s incident were gradually reconnected to the network.

The company said, “Our engineers and technicians will continue working in the tunnels until all the burnt cables are replaced, tested and made available to the company’s Network Planning and Operations Control Centre, to restore the network’s redundancy in this area, as necessary.”

The company’s 24/7 Network Planning and Operations Control Centre had registered a network disturbance at the company’s St Andrew’s 33 kV Distribution Centre, in Pembroke, at 12.26am yesterday, Enemalta said earlier in the day. The distribution centre had been disconnected from the national grid, which had disrupted electricity supply to customers in parts of St Julian’s, Pembroke, Magħtab, Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, Swieqi and San Ġwann.

As soon as the fire in the tunnel supplying this distribution centre was identified, Civil Protection Department fire-fighters arrived at the Distribution Centre to enter the smoke-filled tunnel and extinguish the flames. The burning cables were located several hundred metres inside the underground tunnel. Enemalta officials and engineers had also gone on site to assess the damages.

Work to repair the 33 kV cables damaged by the fire and reconnect the St Andrew’s Distribution Centre to the national grid started as soon as the Civil Protection Department confirmed it was safe for the engineers and technicians to reach the incident area.