A fault to the interconnector in Sicily caused a widespread power outage this afternoon, leaving a substantial part of Malta and Gozo without electricity.

The supply was disrupted at 4.45pm and completely restored two hours later.

Areas without power included Rabat, Sliema, San Gwann, Naxxar, Iklin, Birkirkara and Valletta.

A reader reported that lights at Mater Dei also dimmed for a second before the generators took over.

Traffic lights in several parts of the island were also out of order. In Msida traffic chaos was reported as a result and in spite of police presence.

Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi said the widespread power cut was caused by a fault that occurred on the Italian side, which cut off the electricity supply to the interconnector cable.

He said the interconnector cable was supplying the system with around 190MW of electricity, equivalent to almost 50 per cent of the domestic demand.

“There was no current flowing from Sicily and this caused the protective systems on the network to shut down. However, the operators were good at maintaining system stability that allowed some parts of the island to continue receiving electricity from the Delimara power station.”

He said all the capacity at Delimara was re-ignited and electricity would be returning to all households within the next few hours.

Dr Mizzi said the interconnector was not yet receiving electricity and Enemalta had no explanation yet for the fault from the Italian partners.

“This incident shows that Malta cannot depend for its base load on imported electricity and has to have enough generating power domestically,” he said.

Enemalta said in a statement that its technicians and engineers were working to restore supply.

It said the interconnector’s protection systems were triggered to safeguard the Maltese grid’s infrastructure from a disturbance in the Sicilian transmission network.

Electricity supply was disrupted at 4.45pm as the company stopped receiving electricity through the interconnector.

However, the Delimara Power Station’s operation was not disrupted and Enemalta maintained all generating units in operation. Electricity supply started being restored within a few minutes through the same power station.

Enemalta said it regretted any inconvenience caused.  It said that, for assistance, customers should contact the company’s customer care team on 8007 2224.