Electricity supply has been restored to all areas impacted by faults in Enemalta’s cables, the company said in a statement on Sunday afternoon. While not all high-voltage cable faults have been repaired yet, Enemalta said households and businesses impacted by them are now being powered through alternative cable connections or temporary generators. The Times reports that Enemalta said that it egistered more than 60 high voltage cable faults and other network difficulties since Monday. Several technical teams will continue working round the clock, until all damaged cables can be re-energised.
UPDATE – Political Leaders interviewed by Party media on Sunday
Prime Minister Robert Abela said that he is worried about this week’s relentless power cuts. “I am very sorry and worried about the situation. The people are right – they invested into their home to live comfortably and as a government, we have to ensure that they can do so.” He said that in the past Malta was in a sorry state, with power stations tripping and boilers exploding. He said that the Labour government addressed the issues related to the generation of electricity and that even though there was a record demand for power, the country was well served through the power station, the interconnector, and renewable energy.The PM said that the distribution had to be addressed now, with more substations, cabling, and investment in renewables.
Abela said that it was time for a shift in the economic vision to a one that required less human resources and more skills.“We need to invest in sectors that require more specialized skills and less human resources. The economic activity should be greener and should create less pressure on the country,” the PM said.
PN Leader Barnard Grech said that people are beginning to wake up and “see through Robert Abela’s gimmicks”, such as sending cheques close to elections, while he ignored the country’s issues. During an interview on NET FM, the Grech slammed Abela and his government for not taking responsibility for their numerous failures, such as the country’s current power crisis. “Robert Abela and his friends are disconnected from the population, they do not have their fingers on the pulse,” Grech said, adding that the government was refusing to admit to the severity of the situation.
Both Abela and Grech didn’t refer to the surveys published earlier on Sunday by The Sunday Times and Malta Today. (See Report Below)
Morning Briefing
Political Polls indicate vote haemorrhage Labour Party
Two opinion polls published on today’s Sunday Times and MaltaToday may vary in the predicted final outcome of the result, had an election be called today, but indicate a negative trend for the incumbent Party in government. The polls were held against the backdrop of the fallout related to the stance taken and subsequent u-turn in the case of the inquiry of Jean Paul Sofia’s death and the spate of power cuts which has affected the country in the last week.
The Sunday Times reports Labour would win an election by just under 18,000 votes if an election were to take place tomorrow, the slimmest lead the party has experienced in years.
The survey reveals that PL has continued to shed voters, registering a decrease of 1.3% over the past four months and almost 5% since last year’s general election.Meanwhile, PN has failed to gain any significant ground, only recording minimal gains since the last Times of Malta survey in March and increasing its share of the vote by less than 2% since the election.
The MaltaToday survey shows that the Nationalist Party has overtaken the Labour Party for the first time since 2008, a MaltaToday survey conducted over the past tumultuous two weeks shows.Support for the PN stands at 30.2%, an increase of 1.5 points over the last survey held in May, while the PL scores 29.6%, a decline of 3.5 points.
The surveys show that this is the worst result for Labour since both papers started carrying their polls.
But while the Maltatoday survey confirms Labour’s downward trend established in two previous surveys in March and May, Abela retains a comfortable 12-point lead over Grech in the trust barometer.Abela has a trust rating of 39.2%, an increase of 2.1 points over May, against Grech’s 26.8%, an upward tick of 1.3 points. However, 33.3% trust no one. The Sunday Times survey shows that the haemorrhage of votes from Labour’s ranks appears to be driven by a dip in trust in its leader, with Robert Abela’s trust rating receiving a heavy blow over the past months.Abela’s trust rating among all voters now ranks at 4.3, down from the rating of 5 registered in March and a drop of two points since the first edition of this survey in July 2021.Nonetheless, trust in Abela remains higher than PN leader Bernard Grech’s, whose trust rating of 3.7 remains virtually unchanged since four months ago.
According to The Sunday Times, small parties also registered gains, almost doubling their share of the vote to 6.2% since the election.The share of people who said they do not intend to vote remained stable since the last survey at 27.6%. However, researchers say that this is likely to reduce drastically come election time.
Over 50 cable faults in a week – Enemalta
The country faced further blackouts on Saturday, affecting several areas which had already endured hte previous night. Communities in Gudja, Rabat, Mdina, Dingli, Kalkara, Cospicua, Senglea, Vittoriosa, Swieqi, and Sliema experienced prolonged power outages. Similarly, there were reports of power cuts in different towns in Gozo, such as Nadur, Marsalforn, and Xagħra. In a statement on Saturday evening, Enemalta said that throughout the week, the Company registered 52 underground high voltage cable faults in Malta and another eight in Gozo. Enemalta engineers and technicians have already repaired more than half of them, it said, adding that several teams are working round the clock to repair all remaining faults as soon as possible. In most cases, electricity supply to customers affected by these cable faults would have already been provided through alternative cable connections in the same area. In other network difficulties, especially when they are in the same area of a previous fault, such supply restoration may not be possible until the damaged cables are repaired.
Senior citizens offered respite at care homes
Senior citizens trapped at home without electricity, are being offered a day of respite at state-run care homes, Active Ageing Ministry announced on Saturday. In a statement, the ministry said that citizens over 65-years-old, who are affected by power cuts could contact their call centre and be picked up. Given that individuals aged 65 or older are more susceptible to heat-related health issues, the ministry explained, this initiative aims to protect their well-being. (Maltatoday)
Pope appoints Maltese Archbishop to lead Peru abuse investigation
Archbishop Charles Scicluna, one of the Vatican’s top two investigators, has been entrusted by Pope Francis to investigate a scandal-ridden lay group. The founder of this group has been sanctioned for various abuses, including the sexual abuse of minors. Archbishop Scicluna, who presides over the board that investigates cases of abuse within the Church, will be heading to Peru together with Spanish Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, the other top investigator in the Vatican, where they will begin their work on Tuesday. (Newsbook)
