Power Cuts in Malta
4 years ago, power cuts in Malta were a weekly occurrence. Either your apartment block, your street, your town, or the whole country would be subject to blackouts that could range from 20 minutes to 20 hours (almost!). It has got much better since those days however in just 2014 alone, there have already been two nationwide power outages. This means the whole islands of Malta and Gozo were without power for a significant amount of time.
The most recent, on Tuesday 12th August, happened around 7pm and the power stayed off until 1:29 am the morning of the 13th. A whole country, in Europe, without power for 6.5 hours.
The initial outage was caused on Tuesday by a fault at one of the generating units at the Delimara Power Station and an explosion in part of an electricity distribution centre at the Marsa Industrial Estate. No one was injured in the explosion. Police, Civil Protection Department and Enemalta Fire Section personnel and other Enemalta workers extinguished the flames and contained the risk of further damage to the equipment at this installation.
My mobile is with Vodafone and I also had no signal or 3G during that time. A few establishments have generators, but the airport ground to a halt- only a very few hotels, bars and restaurants take this very basic precaution against power cuts in Malta.
Joe and I popped to the casino for some light and something to do; they also had wifiso we could get online and find out what was going on. Afterwards we took a stroll along the waterfront to see if any bars had generators, none did so we stopped somewhere with candles outside and enjoyed a warm drink, staring at the stars.
My tips for power cuts in Malta
1. Keep an eye on Enemaltas website.
Here you can find all notices regarding power cuts in Malta- scheduled and unplanned. This post details the August 12th outage.
2. Have lots of candles handy.
Big bags of tea lights- these light up a room, are easy to place anywhere and everywhere and cause no mess
Long tapered candles- these are better for seeing where you're going.
Store the candles and matches somewhere that's easily accessible in the pitch black and you'll have plenty of light during power cuts in Malta!
3. Refrain from opening the fridge and freezer.
A refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours if the door is kept closed. A full freezer will keep temperature for about 48 hours (source).
4. Go out.
Power cuts in Malta make a great social atmosphere. Everyone goes out, sits on the street just watching the world go by, sitting on benches and bonding with strangers, catching up with neighbours or having drinks at local bars (ones that serve bottled drinks and so on usually stay open) by candle light.
Be careful though- it's dark so don't go exploring anywhere you might fall and don't go by yourself somewhere that is completely dark, anyone could be hiding there.
5. Go to the casino!
Portomaso casino has generators. They wont have the aircon running but they will have lights, drinks and food (free if you're playing!) and they also have free wifi if you need to connect.
6. Look at the sky.
This applies anywhere, but in Malta especially the sky is incredibly light polluted so it's rare to get a really good look at the stars. During the recent power cut in Malta the stars were the clearest I've seen them since I moved here and we caught a few shooting stars too.
7. Chill out.
If you're in Malta, chances are this wont be the last time you experience a power cut lasting an annoyingly long time. They're inconvenient and a little ridiculous. But there's no point getting worked up, just enjoy the time being disconnected from everything you're so used to and appreciate it once it comes back.