Enemalta launches inquiry as power is restored to almost all areas

Updated  7.15  Several localities were without power for hours this afternoon after a fault which developed at Delimara knocked out electricity throughout Malta and Gozo. Power was lost at 1.47 p.m. and started being restored to some areas at 2.15 p.m. Power was gradually returned to other areas, including Valletta at 4 p.m.  Enemalta said power was restored to all of Malta and Gozo  with the exception of a few small areas in the north of Malta by 6.30 p.m. Readers in parts of Naxxar, Xemxija and St Paul's Bay said they were still without power at 7.30 p.m. Enemalta said the outage took place when a 132kV switchboard tripped during a switching operation ahead of scheduled maintenance works to a transformer at the Delimara Power Station. Engineers and technicians immediately worked to restart the generating units at both the Delimara and Marsa power stations. Supply to some areas, including strategic locations such as hospitals and major industrial zones, was restored within half an hour.  An internal inquiry is being held to identify and implement any measures required to avoid similar incidents in the future. Enemalta regretted the inconvenience caused by the incident and...