7 Days, 6 Nights Without Power: ‘San Ġwann Looked Like An Apocalypse Every Night’
Thousands of people in Malta are feeling the sweltering heat without access to electricity. Some parts of San Ġwann have not had power for the last six days.
Mason*, 29 and his partner spoke to Lovin Malta about the emotional damage and financial losses the power blackouts have caused them.
“It’s been a complete nightmare. We lost power on Tuesday, and apart from a few very short-lived (generally 20-minute) bursts of electricity, we’ve been left in the dark for seven days and six nights,” Mason told this newsroom.
The unforgiving heat made it impossible to sleep in their flat on Triq il-Furrajna, so the pair have been alternating between their parents’ houses to rest.
“We were lucky all in all, but our neighbours especially the elderly really, really suffered. You could see the mental fatigue on their faces every morning when we spoke with them – they deserve to be heard and apologised to.”
In the past week, Mason and his girlfriend have thrown away €200 worth of food and resorted to eating takeaways every night.
Mason described apocalyptic scenes during the night, with families loitering outside their homes in an effort to cool down.
“Leaving our house in the evening, it looked like an apocalypse every night,” he explained.
“We saw neighbours shirtless (some even in their boxers) just sitting on the pavement trying to cool down, whole families with their pets bunched up in their cars with the ac turned on – it was a real shocking scene, night after night.”
The most frustrating thing, he said, was the information blackout.
“We called the helpline a number of times, and while the people answering were as helpful and compassionate to the situation as can be, they were in almost just as much figurative dark as we were literally.”
“They kept telling us that they were filing reports but had zero indication of what caused anything or when technicians (who we have the utmost respect for working in the heat) would be able to locate or fix anything. “
Mason believes the Prime Minister and Enemalta’s CEO, Steve Farrugia, should shoulder responsibility for the nationwide blackouts.
“We listened to that whole interview Robert Abela did about the powercuts, and we couldn’t believe what we were hearing – he spent the whole time addressing comments made by Bernard Grech, instead of claiming any responsibility for the situation and while saying that we shouldn’t look at any other country he referenced three or four.”
“We’re really not political people at all, and as I said we have the utmost respect for the Enemalta technicians and the customer care that tried their best to help us. They said it was a distribution problem, not an overload problem – if this is the case, the person in charge of that sector (Steve Farrugia, Enemalta’s Executive Director of Distribution) must be held responsible. I’m sorry, but a heatwave in Malta during July is pretty standard.”
Malta has suffered one of the worst power cuts and heatwaves in Maltese history, leaving thousands without basic essentials like electricity, and in some cases, water.
More than 60 high-voltage cable faults and other network difficulties were registered last Monday. And while workers race to repair all the damage, there’s no guarantee that they will end in the near future.
*Names have been changed for anonymity
Have you been affected by the power cuts? Send an email to [email protected]
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