Monday, 22nd March 2010 - 19:06CET

Outage caused by Boiler 7 fault at Marsa - power restored to all localities

Updated:

Power to all localities was restored by 8.47 p.m. today, four-and-a-half hours after a fault at Boiler seven at Marsa power station caused a nation-wide blackout.

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said at a press conference that the boiler fault was 'sudden and without warning'. At the time the Marsa power station was producing 67MW while 184MW were being generated at Delimara. As a consequence of the failure, all systems at Marsa and Delimara shut down immediately to prevent overload and damage.

The minister said the engineers and workers were doing their best to restore power to all areas as soon as possible. For now, he said, all the load was being put on Delimara power station while turbine nine at Marsa was also being switched on.

He said the fault was thought to have been technical and there was no foul play. It was hoped, he said, that all areas would have power by midnight. As at 6.45, the minister said, power had been restored to 40% of the country.

He apologised for all inconvenience caused and said it was a fact that Marsa power station was old and the government was working to eventually be able to phase it out.

The minister also thanked the GWU for lifting industrial action that had been in place at Marsa power station.

ENEMALTA UPDATE

Enemalta said at 7.45 that power had been restored to 70 per cent of the country, with power having been supplied to parts of Sta Venera, Birkirkara, Mriehel, Qormi amd St Julians.

Power to all the grid was restored at 8.47 p.m.

Next article • Speaker deplores insults at MPs

Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Monday, September 6, 2010. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Comments

Joseph Galea(on 23/3/10)

@M Cassar, well done! when are we (as maltese people) going to learn to STOP INVENTING EXCUSES for every single incompetence that happen in this country.

I came to the conclusion that many people in this country have an IQ of a headless chicken. When a political party say A, its followers say A, when the party say B, the followers say B.

People, think for a moment and wake up, we must stop "LYING TO OURSELVES" and make it sound as if everything is perfect simply to excuses the incompetence of others - regardless of what party is governing.

If someone is incompetent WE must SAY that he is Incopetent, nothing more, nothing less.

The truth is that we are being skinned alive with high electricity bills and taxes, and for what? for an unreliable service. And guess where all our hard earned money is going? Its no secret where its going, and its not going to improve the service obviously.

J Brincat(on 23/3/10)

@ Muscat. Pat.

So you ask 'Where has our money gone?'

This is the million dollar question.

Perhaps you guess is as good as mine!

r.camilleri(on 23/3/10)

why is everone nagging and moaning? look at the bright side..........we won't have to pay for a half day of electricity. with the electricity bill hikes, we should be happy when the bulbs go out!
so lets celebrate!

Muscat. Pat(on 23/3/10)

PN apologists never give up! Come on shower on us more excuses. 6 billion of of euro debt and still without a steady supply of electricity. Where has all our money gone? Where is the beef?

Joseph Bonello(on 23/3/10)

To James Vella
We've been through worse way back in the 70s man!!

g.c.Forte(on 23/3/10)

And worst in the 40`s during the war...............Grow up man........we are living a nightmare in the year 2010 of our Lord. We are living like in the prehistory era.

A Galea(on 23/3/10)

A pity we still use the 70's power station which was supposed to be closed once the dellimara one was done. Pity people still live in the past. We are in 2010 and still with this problem. THIS is a mess!

Joseph Ciantar(on 23/3/10)

Adding insult to injury: now that consumers pay astronomical charges, the service deteriorates by so many and lengthy power-cuts. Is it within the consumers' protection rights to insist for a pro-rata reduction in bills computing the lost hours of service. As things are consumers are paying for an inaccessible service during power failures.

Peter Bonnici(on 23/3/10)

@ S Coleiro. Go ahead, its safe enough for you to go along with wife and kids nowadays.

J Brincat(on 23/3/10)

At least this time round the minister was man enough to admit that the power failure cames as a result of a technical fault and not like the outgoing Enemalta chairman did last November when he blamed the total darknesse on foul play.

Has the result of the police investigations ever came to light or are they gathering dust in some drawer?

M Cassar(on 23/3/10)

Joseph Azzopardi this is 2010 ..stop talking about 1980s I've had enough of your cheap excuses for Pn...I want resignations! Refund for the people, after all they will start taking legal action and arresting whoever don't pay the bill. I've had enough of your incompetent party we pay 3 times european pay without any chance for compensation for damage done to our equipment. Is this accountability. With brainwashed fools like you always mentioning 30 years ago to justify what happened how can this country move forward. I SIMPLY do NOT care what happened in the past, I care about the present and the future, your incompetent leader is a farce. Just admit it!

richard Galea(on 23/3/10)

Yesterday I took the opportunity to have a heart to heart talk with my loved ones......no TV no music no computer.............what a luxury.....to rediscover your own self.

JGambin(on 23/3/10)

Comparing 2010 to the 1970-80s is like comparing the 70s to the 1930 s- so shoud we get comfort now that the electricity fails only every few months- fo a number of hours. I dont blame people for moaning when it affects their business- with lost sales- which cannot be recovered. What i cannot stand is the boasting- when we say we now have the latest technology - best infrastructure etc etc - when our electricity supply is what it is and our roads still built & maintained amateurishly . Of course its better than 30 years ago- God help us if it wasnt - but which European country did not improve in 30 years.

J Farrugia(on 23/3/10)

carmel Cilia - dont worry priomises are promises and PN always keeps its promises with the people.. The Marsa Power station will be shut down as promised. The people of Marsa were promised that coal (cancer) used by Labour Governments for this power station will be removed once and for all. It costed the taxpayers gold. but a promise is a promise with a nationalilst government. And rest assured Carmel Cilia, that the Marsa Power station will be phased out, even with the spokes in the wheels the MLP is throwing in the road to the building of a new power plant in Delimara to offset the one at Marsa. So keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.

Joe E Galea(on 23/3/10)

@Joseph Azzopardi: Your argument is as old as the power station. In the 80's the technology was not as advanced as today. After 25 years of GonziPN and pompous supposed investments, we still have these problems. If you compare today with 30 years ago, then you are stuck in the past ,like your government old and outdated. 30 years ago we didn't have computers and now we do, does it mean that it was the government of the 80's fault? Admit it that after all these years under GOnziPn we are paying for the corruption and inefficiencies accumulated throughout these years.

Carmel Dimech(on 23/3/10)

Back to the 80s the difference the electricity prices are much higher.

H Dempster(on 23/3/10)

After four and a half hour without electricity, are we going to recieve a refund on the cost of the meter rent for loss of use? After all it no longer comes cheap.

david mallia(on 23/3/10)

If serious initiatives were taken vis-a-vis solar energy in the past, such problems would not exist on the scale they do now. I remember the Austrian government setting up a solar energy research station in Marsaxlokk in the late seventies. Why was this initiative not followed up and expanded. Germany, which is not so sunny country, is way ahead of Malta in photo-voltaic power generation. Unfortunately our politicians are very short sighted and have no vision for our future sustainability. Resources, whether water, energy or just open spaces and clean seas, will be crucially important in the near future. Politicians , please get a reality check and plan ahead.

Raymond Porter(on 23/3/10)

It was a wonderful in Sliema..looking down from the balcony,looking on all those people in pitch darkness walking along with only the light of their mobile or a torch to show them the way..so romantic..more like this please.

S Coleiro(on 23/3/10)

Yesterday no electricity till 8.30 pm.....today no water in kitchen tap...time to march to Castille as we used to do in the past...bring out the buckets

Carmel Cilia(on 23/3/10)

Twenty years ago when the Eddie Fenech Adami new power station was built at Delimara we were promised that the marsa power station would then be phased out. So much for the P.N. promises. If today it wereent for this old power station Malta would be without electricity. To add insult to injury the Delimary power station we were told by Mr. Fenech is still not paid for. We still have according to him to pay someting to the tune of 200 million Euros. That is how these people are ruling these islands. Howqever they still have the guts to keep promising us this and that. Nobody today believe a word of what they say but like idiots they still brag on and on.
However in Maltese we say illum il warrani mikxuf berah and when the prime minister repeats at nausia that in Malta everything is on track he is just kidding himself nobody else. By the way last sunday he said that the wages in Malta are the best in Europe, Mater Dei is the best hospital in Europe in one word Malta is the best in Europe. Then surely Europe must be the worst in the world.

L Tabne(on 23/3/10)

@Robert Cachia

So you are saying that every household should be prepared, like your dad, and buy a generator??? Why should we we when we are supposed to be provided the service from enemalta?? Blackouts may be a common occurance but they should not be a normal occurancel. I have better things to spend my money on then a generator.

Joseph Azzopardi(on 23/3/10)

M Cassar
While waiting in this 3rd world country in all but name for the electricity to come I dedicate this sonnet to the Pn.

Candles and scandals,
an environment in shambles,
Heartless greed,
with those in need, etc.. etc.. ect..

Dear M.Cassar Can you please tell us where you were living in the period of time before 1987???? when we used to have power failure day in and day out. This is not to mention shortage of water with bowsers running all over the Island.. Shortage of all the commodities that we all are used to have today which we would not have dreamt to have then. I am sure you do have such things today too Mr.Cassar.. If today Malta is a 3rd World county, tell me what would you have called it then, if you were around that is Mr.M.Cassar. I suggest you to dedicate the sonnet you wrote above to whoever was running the country then. This goes also for all the others writing negative comments here, who lived during that ERA. They should freshen their memories a bit!!! As for the younger generation. They should consider themselves lucky not to have lived during that time..

g.c.Forte(on 23/3/10)

Dear Joseph............The first sentence of the comment of Carmel Cilia above, is your answer. You are living in the past, my friend..................With the same argument, our grandfathers use to have what we are having today during war time.They use to call them " Black Outs". Mind you speaking about the P.L. era, before 87, we did not have so much sophisticated appliances, like the computers, so the damage are greater today then ever. Developed countries will not have an energy system that depends on a power station that goes back hundred years ago.

raymond cutajar(on 23/3/10)

INCIDENTS do happen PREVENTABILE INCIDENTS should Not Be Allowed To Happen
Shame on You Who is responsabile
Work Practices Standards should begin Before a and finish never finish aqs

E Frendo(on 23/3/10)

A nation of moaners! That's what we are. So what? A fault happened, and it was restored back to normal after 4 hours. That's what I call efficiency and good work. At least it does not happen every night like the bad old days

Arthur Smith, Surrey, UK(on 23/3/10)

So there you are: Yet another Maltese national black out!
Just like I predicted...

And how could anybody expect any different when you leave the power station in the hands of an accountant! There's a clearly insufficient appreciation within the administration for the need for preventive maintenance. One cannot make silk purse from a sow's ear!

These blackouts will also become ever more frequent and extensive as Malta's education system continues to lower its standards, thereby weakening the Maltese nation's engineering base. You are gradually becoming incapable of guaranteeing an adequate preventive-maintenance cycle and reliability programme. You are becoming incapable of operating the most basic support systems of the country.

In one short phrase: "You are going the way of the dodo!"

I shudder to think at what will happen when the first mass-produced "engineers" start to roll out from the MCAST conveyor belt! That's the BOTTOM LINE!!

Good luck MALTA!

D.Bartolo(on 23/3/10)

Make Marsa Power Station , a musuem of industrial and economic history and the PN Government, a museum of inability and insensivtiy. The last word, the Minister had always came and try to ease our minds, about what???, with his Government in power, lot of promises and nothing be done. Good night and hope that Malta last evening had enjoyed a wonderful candle light dinner.

J Martinelli(on 23/3/10)

@ Joseph E Briffa

Well said Mr. Briffa but you are forgetting that the GWU are pawns under the command of the LP who is doing everything in its power to disrupt and delay the extension of the Delimara station. Why? It's because they did not build it during their administration lasting 16 years.

@ Emmanuel Marmara' and the wannabee poets

Re: Gonzipn being 'old' - Maltese saying: Kliem ix-xih, zomm fih. Il-pinnur (Joseph & LP) idur ma kull rih. Kliem vojt u fatti xejn.

@ M Cassar

What a wasted talent! How about another string of rhymes about "Sour grapes"?
Third world government is one which left the country with rusted out water pipes and brown water flowing (infrequently) from the kitchen taps and water tankers going from street to street distributing 'rationed' water and tourists protesting in front of hotels which could not provide them with showers in the middle of a scorching summer. That's third world - not a four hour power cut and with an opposition hell bent on interfering with the enlargement of the Delimara station!

Go write something, taht il-lampa tal-pitrolju.

apgrech(on 23/3/10)

@ Rachel Ferry - Rachel, we the northerners are privileged people, that's why!!!

s.sammut(on 23/3/10)

@RACHEL FERRY
the answer is that north gets the elec.last cos gonzipn only cares about the businesses in sliema/st julians area !!!!they always be the first to have the electricity back shops in the north had to close with tourist moaning that malta is not reccomanded for a holiday !!!!!

Harold Davies(on 22/3/10)

This is yet again for the umpteenth time a very sad state of affairs for Malta and Gozo, we are ex-pats and just about had it with this incompetence and amateurish way of running YOUR country, Back home we see large posters advertising for the tourists saying :Spend your holidays in care free Malta, the only think it don't mention is that one must pack a torch and a few batteries to see their way around the islands, as for us we just about had enought so we off to see the wild west show back home. Tally Ho Joe Joe.

malcolm mallia(on 22/3/10)

Product malta at its best!!

no wonder the type of tourist that comes to malta has changed so much over the past years,

Prof P. Sant cassia(on 22/3/10)

Well, we are paying European Electricity rates for our energy, but getting a sub-Saharan African Service. It is scandalous and unacceptable that our "Enemalta" cannot supply us with an uninterrupted supply - and never will.

Eric Camilleri(on 22/3/10)

Enemalta - Thank you.
Thank you for my having to close my shop at 4.10pm with the obvious consequence of loss of business. The unexpected blackout also generated a huge traffic jam in Marsa by which time over an hour and a half later I managed to arrive home in Mosta, obviously to find my family in pitch darkness too and we stayed that way for a a whole 4 hours. I now want to see if ARMS will be chasing me for an on time settlement of my water and electricity bills. To all the wise guys suggesting that I should have invested in a generator you can just imagine my answer.

Timothy Cachia(on 22/3/10)

This is what happens when a power station is over worked and is WAYYYYYY past it's life expectancy. If the enemalta wants us to pay such high rates with a blasted interest rate... at least have the decency of providing an adequate service to your clients!!!

Philip Hili(on 22/3/10)

Ara veru li z-zmien inessi!!!
Insejtu meta l-qtugh tad-dawl u l-ilma kienu "the order of the day"???????

D Cardona(on 22/3/10)

the question is ......... when is Boiler 7 gonna be fixed ?

ray mi callef(on 22/3/10)

its just not good enough is it.with the last increase of the tariffs with no justification whatsoever the least one expects is a reliable service.i run a catering establishment in qawra and power came back on after 9 oclock.5 hours with no power .our trade can do without such disruptions ,everybody in our trade knows we ve had the worst business possible this winter.so no more lame apologies by this or that minister. anywhere in the eu whoever is responsible of running such a company as enemalta takes full responsibility more so when such company is the only service provider on our island. one last thing , with the new bills if one defaults on or effects a late payment you are either cut off or charged interest.who is going to compensate us for lost business.

s.grech(on 22/3/10)

Third world country lead by Gonzipn

Neil Payne(on 22/3/10)

i came home to no electric..... o well, thought i better get a takeaway tonight instead as i can't cook, but then i remembered i just paid a 500 euro bil for water and electric and have no spare cash until payday!

M. POrtelli(on 22/3/10)

Question : Why is the north ALWAYS the last area to get our power back?
Answer : Becouse at least we at the south need electricty and you of the north need better enviorment and more investment in your area.

A Psaila(on 22/3/10)

To my knowledge the Marsa/Delimara system was designed to be co-ordinated and thus the shut down of one boiler would not mean a total power cut. To say that Marsa and Delimara were shut down to avoid overload is not true. Have you ever heared of 'LOAD SHEDDING' ? In theory Delimara (to say the least) should have continued buisness as usual with the gas turbines topping up the power.

Andrew Paris(on 22/3/10)

The 80's are in people. Enmalta is contributing to the style of the times.

J. Schembri(on 22/3/10)

How are we going to deal with these outages? Link Malta to the European Grid and extend the delimara power station. One cannot expect an old car not to stop , Marsa power station is not like an old car it's more like a vintage car.
Please let's be realistic , with the subsidised bills , we were taking financial aid from the power production instead of contributing for its replacement.
Hopefully we get the smart meters and off peak tariffs introduced. This measure will redistribute the power demand more evenly.

Peter Shaw(on 22/3/10)

It was quite romantic eating by candlelight. Also I saved on electricity too :)

Fenech M D(on 22/3/10)

Let's look at the bright side of life ppl

Iffrankajna ftit mill-kont tad-dawl u l-ilma!

Ara qed niccajta...... tiblawniex!

mario v. gauci(on 22/3/10)

And what about the confusion and traffic jams we had on the roads, I passed through two junctions which are normally controlled by traffic lights, that at the Mriehel bypass and Attard leading to San Anton; it was a free for all and confusion everywhere. Why is it that traffic police and wardens were nowhere to be seen? They should have been out in force to control and direct traffic.

J cassar(on 22/3/10)

Madwar 20 sena ilu konna nigu imbezza li jekk me tinbeniex power station ohra (Jigifieri dik ta Dellimara) konna sa naffacjaw problemi kbar. Illum ergaja ghat tielet darba fi ftit xhur kien hemm hsara fil-power station tal-marsa..... u malta kollha bla dawl. Veru dal gvern kull ma jwieghed iwettqu!!!!.

Haga ohra, ta min jinnota hi li dan il-qtuh ta dawl li laqat lil malta kollha sehh minn meta splodew il-kontijiet tad-dawl....nahseb li bdawn il-kontijiet anke il-power station qed tispoldi.

james vella(on 22/3/10)

what a joke this country is, embarrased to call myself maltese.

kenneth camilleri(on 22/3/10)

the government seems very adamant with implying interest and fines for late payments in all gov entities which offer a service for a fee, the latest being enemalta not to mention the exhorbitant fees we are paying for an extremely mediocre service. Will enemalta be decent enough to compensate its customers for the inconveniance and loss of business its customers incurred. Malta 2010 .............LOL

victor pulis(on 22/3/10)

JOSEPH, SPACE ALIENS ARE USUALLY FROM OUTER SPACE!!

Joseph Buhagiar(on 22/3/10)

.... it should have lasted a bit longer :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z5UuGgf_ec

Michael Zerafa(on 22/3/10)

Do you pay the diesel for it or dad does too???

I am a technician and normally technical faults are accounted for! Mr Minister, obviously the fault was without warning, had there been a warning and nothing was done about it, I won't think anyone would own up would it? Yes of course we can use Delimara power station, at what efficiency?

SO much for being old... apparently the old rut has to make up for the 'new one' ? Will a 'state of the art turbine replace this too?

d.attard(on 22/3/10)

I am presently entertaining friends who are on the second day into their first visit to Malta after years of my promting to visit our island.

The minister's statement makes it sound as if power-cuts are a normal and regular feature of life.

Well, guess what? They are not. They are too frequent an occurence and we need to understand the bottom line.

M. Mizzi(on 22/3/10)

another - Gonzipn No Foresight Saga to the detriment of the Maltese tax-payer and yes, the Maltese Electorate .

Joseph E Briffa(on 22/3/10)

Grumbling and moaning doesn't get us anywhere and for heaven's sake the less industrial actions at Enemalta the better for the WHOLE country. Of course the Marsa Plant is old; it was old a generation ago when we refurbished used equipment. . So what can you expect from an old plant? Like an ailing being, it needs more attention; it can't affrord to have workers on partial strikes. Doesn't the GWU appreciate that partial strikes are harmful to the economy especially in such sensitive places as Power Plants? Is it a responsible behaviour to risk power cuts by calling partial strikes at an old Plant which incidentally is the sole energy provider? The GWU should act responsibly and leave Enemalta be. It has more than enough problems and we can't afford to complicate matters by calling strikes. The dockyard was ruined by the union's insistence on getting allowances for the workers which the yard could not afford; and we all have seen the results. Malta can do without the dockyard, but not without power plants. So please let Enemalta soldier on, and let's have the Delimara extension on stream asap + the connection to the EU grid.

lgalea(on 22/3/10)

Your usual tirade against the GWU and workers Briffa. It is because of your incompetent Gonzi and those he appointed at Enemalta and the lack of real valid investment that we are having so many power cuts.

David Mizzi(on 23/3/10)

PN apologist !!

Muscat Pat(on 22/3/10)

The only thing that GonziPN is good at is dishing out empty slogans, murmering excuses, and blaming everyone......except himself!

Rachel Ferry(on 22/3/10)

Why is the north ALWAYS the last area to get our power back?

Mark Bishop(on 22/3/10)

Because "Northern" residents don't want a power station close to their homes and the closer you are to a power station the sooner you get your power back.

Also, this north-south ideology is really stupid when you consider the size of the island. Also, please go out and buy a compass because it is not North but West-Northwest or Northwest at best if you feel like stretching it for the scope of the argument.

David Mizzi(on 23/3/10)

Actually this is a matter of priorities :

First : Hospital
Second : Runway, Airport & Ports
Third : Industrial Areas
Fourth : Domestic

On the light side ....

Since you don't carry the burden of having a power station with a nice big exhaust pipe puffing black dust as your neighbour for 365 days a year, you carry a small burden every time there is an outage !!!

PS : try to start a lobby group for a new runway next to you... and I can assure you you'll be given a bit of priority

Emmanuel Marmara'(on 22/3/10)

YES THE POWER STATION IS OLD ........Mr..FENECH'S IDEAS ARE OLD...... EXCUSES ARE OLD ......

AND SO IS THE WHOLE GONZIPN...
I WONDER IF IT WAS Dr.GONZI's...AND Mr. FENECH'S PLACES THAT were the FIRST to HAVE electricity back to normal ???????????????????????????????????

Joseph Aquilina(on 22/3/10)

What was it this time? space aliens from outer space...

M Cassar(on 22/3/10)

While waiting in this 3rd world country in all but name for the electricity to come I dedicate this sonnet to the Pn.

Candles and scandals,
an environment in shambles,
Heartless greed,
with those in need,
Unaccoutanble misdeed.
An endless inflation,
the wreck of a nation,
a macabre deceit,
a government without receipt,
an annulity, a cheat.
Persistent ravings,
Stolen savings,
a constant barrage
of a delusional mirage.

J Vella(on 22/3/10)

Some radio stations have been stating that the last nationwide powercut to be suffered was last June'09 - this is wrong the last nationwide powercut was suffered last November - see: http://enemalta.com.mt/page.asp?n=newsdetailssearch&i=1725

victor vella(on 22/3/10)

I Galea: are you in a union? if yes why isnt your union fighting for your rights? I am not a union member and I got a raise last week due to the increase in cpst of fuel and electricity.
Jason Attard: Thank those who are hindering the goverment with senseless accusations about the new power station my friend.Jien hawn ghandi eletriku.
IG : Check wuth your insurers my friend, a good insurance would pay you the money for that for sure.

lgalea(on 22/3/10)

You must indeed be lucky Vella, because workers have to fight for their rights. Hindering government? Are you referring the the MAlta File, the endless strikes, the protests for any imaginable issue by the PN when PL was in government?

Mark Bishop(on 23/3/10)

Why promote insuring against the incompetence of Enemalta and the government altogether? Sounds seriously wrong. Liability is the right thing. It makes them less arrogant and more precautious.

D.Galea(on 22/3/10)

Apology accepted, but will something be done to deal with this once and for all!? True apology also means to take those necessary actions to remedy the situation otherwise such apology is useless, this does by no means Enemalta's workers aren't appreciated for their efforts.

Marius Zulgis(on 22/3/10)

We must be the only population in the world who is on first-name terms with it's power station boilers.

maria balzan (on 22/3/10)

this is the second power cut which the people who live in the south were faced with.. the power station of marsa needs to be replaced as quickly as possible with an other power station which is more efficient. It is interesting to note that the power station in marsa is only 5% efficient !!! no wonder why it is giving the workers alot of trouble .

maria balzan (on 22/3/10)

David Mizzi(on 23/3/10)

@Maria Balzan...

Yes it's about time .... well said

Just don't get carried away with the urgency.... this plan had been drawn up in 2006 !!!

We need good, healthy decisions not speedy ones !!!

OK Now we're stuck with both thanks to the UN-ACCOUNTABILITY.....

Still don't get carried away too far.... "5% efficiency" ??!! from where did you get this ?? if this is true ... is it that Delimara alone can't absorb 5% more demand ??!!

Luke Scicluna(on 22/3/10)

The government again makes a fool of the Maltese people... hekk jew hekk daqt April's Fool.

janet bayes(on 22/3/10)

Isn't it time that enemalta started issuing candles and matches, free of charge, for when (not if) these cuts happen. I wonder how much food has gone to waste, how many businesses have lost money, and how many take aways were purchased tonight because of the inefficiency of one boiler??

Robert Cachia(on 22/3/10)

Be prepared for the unexpected, long time ago my dad invested in a hefty generator that powers the whole house without any problems. Infact today's power cut did not create any hitch regarding electrical power to the house. Infact for us the said power cut did not affect us in any way.

Joseph A Borg(on 22/3/10)

sorry Mr Cachia, but who cares about your very expensive solution?!

There are many people who can barely afford a UPS for their home computer.

Michael Zerafa(on 22/3/10)

lgalea(on 22/3/10)

Do you expect old people to have the energy to start a generator? Do you expect every household to have a generator?
What do you do for flats? a generator for each one? Where do you put them? Wake up to reality and don't try to find any excuses Cachia

Anthony Mizzi(on 22/3/10)

A true State ( the whole of Malta ) of the art Power Outage or Cut or whatever one deems to call it.... Apology for all inconvenience caused and said it was a fact that Marsa power station was old not accepted, since the Maltese electorate was promised otherwise some three or four general elections ago. How long does a Nationalist administration phasing out take? It sarted in the last century and we are already 10 years in a new century. Most likely it will turn out to be another Saga...... .

lgalea(on 22/3/10)

Perhaps Mater Dejn and the Cirkewwa Terminal will give you a very rough idea.

leo attard(on 22/3/10)

Mr.Fenech, we get an apology for enemalta's inefficiency and how it negatively effects us.... so if we are unable to pay the heavy-duty utility bills on time would it be okay if we just give you an apology instead of the 6% fine?

Jos Vella(on 22/3/10)

Dear Minister, has there ever been any foul play in the last power outage? At least that was the rumor. If there was no foul play, what shall we (Maltese population) expect during summer time? serrhilna rasna!!

Robert Agius(on 22/3/10)

Most of the country powerless.... what percentage???? this is last weeks article on power emissions... http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100311/local/power-station-emissions-just-below-eu-ceiling Can someone explain? Things just don't add up.

J Mizzi(on 22/3/10)

"He said the fault was thought to have been technical and there was no foul play." Of course, there is no Parliamentary debate on the Budget Estimates, and tonight Bondi+ is discussing abortion and not the Enemalta success story!

Ing John Pace(on 22/3/10)

No 7 boiler has an output of 60 megawatts, which is a fifth of the total system load. When such a big unit fails the rest of the plant cannot cope and the whole system goes.
With the projected diesel engine plant each has an output of 17 megawatt and the loss of a unit is easily absorbed by the rest of the plant. This in addition to being more efficient and environmentally friendly.

Mark Bishop(on 22/3/10)

Thanks for sharing however I do believe that this type of fault tolerance should have been already in place for at least the past 4 years and not in the planning in 2010.

Also I'm sure that power is not really restored "to all localities" as much as I'm sure that we will experience the 30-60 minute round-robin power cut charade in the coming days while the fault is "patched" for a few months before the next failure.

lgalea(on 22/3/10)

So Dr KMB was right when he said that we should have different smaller power stations around Malta and not a central one or two. This is both for a normal failure and is something happened such as a natural disaster or blockage of the cooling water being blocked etc.

David Mizzi(on 23/3/10)

So you are actually confirming ... that this EU country ... is not generating enough reserve capacity on every turbine for when one of them goes on shut-down.... they could cope with the demand... Redundancy ! This reserve should at least be the same valuer as much as the biggest turbine can generate..

Let's assume we have boiler 7 with 60 MW (and let's assume it's the biggest one).... then between boilers 1 to 6 we should have a spare generating capacity of (at least) 60 MW as well.

This scenario is also mentioned in the Electricity Generation Plan... issued in 2006

This Govt. has been dragging too long to assure all of us that there is enough spare capacity for any eventuality.

I'm sorry but your Engineering Title is not convincing me either

IG(on 22/3/10)

For those that are still without electricity.... can they claim defrosted food (which might need to be thrown away), rebate of 1 day's worth of rent?

R Scicluna(on 22/3/10)

I might be wrong, but as far as I know, no one can claim this loss from Enemalta. But there are some home insurances that offer this type of cover if you also insure the contents.

Robert Agius(on 22/3/10)

yes R. Scicluna...just tell us who to pay....

R Scicluna(on 27/3/10)

Make your own enquiries, because I don't think that I can make a free advert here!

Mariette Borg(on 22/3/10)

Whats the excuse know Dr.Gonzi?! we're not paying enough?

Chris Spiteri(on 22/3/10)

Its time that the Marsa Power Station becomes a museum!!!

Jason Attard(on 22/3/10)

Marsa power station is old, Enemalta is old, the government makes no decisions. What is new Mr Fenech?

G. Fenech(on 22/3/10)

"The minister also thanked the GWU for lifting industrial action that had been in place at Marsa power station." - Read as: people were sitting around twiddling thumbs, instead of keeping an eye out for possible faults. "The fault was sudden and without warning": Yes, because people were sitting around twiddling thumbs instead of keeping an eye out "He apologised for all inconvenience caused and said it was a fact that Marsa power station was old and the government was working to eventually be able to phase it out." Wow, the Marsa power station is old! I would have never come to that conclusion myself. Have these so called ministers got any credibility left at all??

lgalea(on 22/3/10)

Why don't you criticize those who do not care about the workers and not the workers who are following industrial action Fenech? Your posting shows how much hatred there is against workers.

Luke Scicluna(on 22/3/10)

Workers have got a right to strike... jew ha nnehhulhom dik ukoll? Mela ahna r-Russja jew.

Outage caused by Boiler 7 fault at Marsa - power restored to all localities

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