Maria Grech, 57, from Qormi had stocked her freezer with food because guests were staying at her house.

But it all went to waste yesterday after more than 16 hours without electricity.

“It is all in the bin,” she told this newspaper in a flustered voice.

Qormi was one of the last localities to have its electricity supply back yesterday – at around 3pm – after a nationwide power cut struck on Tuesday night.

Ms Grech was one of many residents who took to Facebook to vent their frustration.

Renald Blundell from Luqa had a similar experience to tell on the social networking site.

“All items in the fridge and freezer will have to be thrown away,” he wrote, adding that the average cost of the spoilt goods was between €300 and €400.

But he also posed the question of whether Enemalta was liable. “Who will compensate us for such loss? Is Enemalta responsible or liable for these damages?”

Steven Zerafa, 45, from St Julian’s was one of many who called Times of Malta newsroom to complain. Mr Zerafa was angry because he could not get through to Enemalta all day. The line was constantly dead or engaged, he said.

This was ascertained by a reporter who tried contacting the company on its customer care lines on numerous occasions, to no avail.

“At one point I was on hold for more than 15 minutes and the website has no updates on it either. We have no idea what is going on. The best information we are getting is from news websites,” Mr Zerafa said.

But Manuel Micallef from Birkirkara tried to turn fate around and bought bags of ice from a kiosk to preserve food stocks in his refrigerator.

“I tried my best to save what I could by filling coolers. I tried to think on my two feet,” he said.

For others the blackout was good news. Stephanie Ellul, 50, from Santa Venera, said she must have sold three dozen emergency lights and lanterns.

“I also sold bucketloads of batteries and a few torches,” she said.

The power outage at the height of August may have caused discomfort and a lot of complaints but it prompted very few insurance claims, according to insurers who spoke to this newspaper.

Catherine Calleja, director at Atlas Insurance, said the overall number of claims received by the company was relatively small.

Her observation was shared by a spokesman for Gasan Mamo Insurance, who said the number of claims received “was nothing major”.

Asked whether house insurance covered loss or damage to frozen food, Ms Calleja said the home contents’ policy offered by Atlas covered such claims in cases like Tuesday’s.

Certain commercial policies could also cover loss or damage from such circumstances, she added.

However, the Gasan Mamo spokesman said home policies offered by his company did not cover the loss of food items in the event of a power cut.

Also, standard commercial insurance did not normally cover perishable items like food but it could be bought as a separate add-on to the policy, he said.

Additional reporting Ivan Martin.