Power cuts

I would like to comment on two letters about power cuts - Power Cuts A Way Of Life, by John Cauchi of Sannat, (October 14), and Power Cuts by Enemalta's PR Officer Ian Vella (October 22).

Mr Vella argued that it was not bad weather that caused power cuts in Sannat this year but planned maintenance or cable faults.

Mr Cauchi had earlier said he sees faulty high tension cables tripping the circuit breakers of Sannat as being responsible for the cuts over the past years. Mr Vella did not deny this was responsible for power cuts in previous years. He also confirmed that faulty cables caused the supply shortages. Over the past 10 years it has happened several times to me, when I was in Malta, that I was affected by power cuts after heavy rain.

I do not know all the reasons for this. But just the fact that it has happened so often, and not just in my residential village of San Gwann, gives me enough reason to believe that the cause of these power failures are inefficiencies and insufficiencies in the electricity supply network.

The electricity infrastructure needs modernisation and proper maintenance urgently. Otherwise power cuts will remain part of the way of life in Malta.