A power outage that lasted over an hour affected half of the island yesterday afternoon with Enemalta unable to identify the cause.

The public energy provider said a technical fault developed at the Marsa power station at 1.15 p.m., which then caused the combined cycle plant at Delimara to trip.

As a result, the electricity supply to half the island was interrupted, including the airport. Power was restored to all areas some one-and-a-half hours later.

Enemalta said the fault was being investigated and expressed regret for the inconvenience caused by the power interruption.

Even if it lasted for just a short while, the power cut rekindled memories of the Good Friday blackout earlier this year and left people wondering whether their Christmas and New Year celebrations will be marred by electricity outages.

A reader posted a comment on timesofmalta.com advising fellow readers to cook their turkey when the electiricty was restored to make sure they did not end up eating Maltese bread on Christmas Day.

Another complained he lost his assignment when his computer went blank.

However, somebody else saw a silver lining and urged people not to worry because no electricity meant lower bills.

In June, hundreds of households had to endure a double power cut on the same day that followed closely on another one caused by a malfunction at Delimara.

The most spectacular electricity outage was the Good Friday one when all Malta and Gozo were left in pitch darkness for a number of hours after power was lost during switching operations between both power stations.