‘Our Lives Are A Misery’: Mġarr Residents Have Had It With Persisting Voltage Fluctuations
A large number of residents residing in Mġarr and Żebbiegħ have had enough of persisting voltage fluctuations and a lack of action from concerned entities.
Approaching Lovin Malta, one resident who was fed up with the issue formed a group of over 40 residents that have been similarly experiencing such issues.
“They make our lives a misery because our homes are our sanctuary – we go home after a stressful day at work and we cannot: cook, watch television, browse the web, have a shower (most of us need pumps due to lack of water pressure also), cool or heat the home,” he told Lovin Malta.
“Instead of relaxing, we get super stressed out because we all feel powerless and there’s nothing we can do and Enemalta couldn’t care an inch,” he said, referring to emails sent to Enemalta which were left unanswered.
While Lovin Malta was included in the last group email that residents sent over these issues, no final reply has been given so far from Enemalta’s side, and only an acknowledgement was provided within six days.
And it’s far from the first time that residents have tried reaching out to Enemalta, with complaints going as far back as last year.
“I am very worried about all the appliances as it’s just harmful … sometimes, the over and under goes on and off for 10 times within five minutes or so and it is just unbearable to look at and or do a house chore like laundry,” he explained.
What damages have residents suffered due to the voltage issues?
“I have had several LED lights fail after power cuts, also my TV failed and recently a Radio hotspot, a small computer device that receives radio signals and sends them over the internet, failed after a power cut,” one said.
“Enemalta continually fails to meet their own specifications where they state that the tolerance of the Low Voltage range (230V) ‘shall be 230V Plus or Minus 10%’,” he explained.
Another resident explained how working from home as a content creator has become extremely difficult due to these persisting issues.
“I have lost thousands of euros in wasted materials and time due to constant voltage dips. Having a 3D printed job that takes 72 hours to complete has become a nightmare and has caused me to stop taking on orders for large jobs as I cannot commit to completing them due to the power failures,” he said.
“The situation has been like this for years, what’s worse is that the problem is on a particular phase of the electricity grid and this can be seen by the fact that not everyone in the same block of apartments has this issue,” he explained.
“The first OVR itself, which we installed as protection had to be replaced after a few months! That bad!” another said.
Another resident explained how he had to change all of his LED lights, even though he had perfectly good working ones before. He also had to call the electrician three times this year alone due to damages suffered.
How has this affected these residents?
“I have a toddler at home, and sleeping with no AC on is impossible! And unfortunately, this is not the exception, but is becoming the rule!” one woman said.
“I sometimes do not have water pressure as the pump doesn’t have enough voltage to switch on; this affects the warm water too,” another woman said.
“Apart from that, the internet needs restoring and my husband works from home. Even drying your hair with a hair dryer takes ages as the power is low, even though it’s a powerful hairdryer,” she said.
Another man also added that due to having two large dogs, the air conditioner is definitely needed in order to ensure proper wellbeing.
“We cannot invite people over for anything as we spend most evenings in summer, with power outages between 6pm and 10pm during summer,” another one said.
“We have to turn off the main switch and try turning it on again after a few minutes to see if it has settled, otherwise the power goes and comes like I’ve every five seconds,” he explained.
“Fear of using the block’s lift, especially at night, which can easily trip due to low voltage… It’s not the first time that someone got trapped in it!” another said.
“The situation has become unbearable, multiple reports have been lodged, confirmations of works have been assured, yet the problem remains,” another expressed.
Stay tuned to read more about this developing story
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