Energy Minister: Interconnector Tripping As A Result Of An Overload Is Completely False
Energy Minister Miriam Dalli has rebutted claims made by PN MP Mark Anthony Sammut that Malta was fully reliant on the interconnector during last week’s storm, resulting in it tripping due to being overloaded.
Minister Dalli has explained that the interconnector did not trip due to an overload, but rather due to a fault that developed on the interconnector in Ragusa.
“What the Minister strongly refuted were wrong claims that the interconnector tripped as a result of an overload on the interconnector. This is completely false,” the spokesperson told Lovin Malta.
Read the Energy Ministry’s full reply here:
As clarification to an earlier report published by Lovin Malta, the Minister never denied that the Delimara Power Station’s Floating Storage Unit was disconnected due to the storm. In fact, in Parliament, she actually explained in detail how this normal storm mooring operation takes place as part of pre-established procedures under the direction of the transport and harbour authorities, in cases of severe weather conditions, such as Friday’s Force 9 and Force 10 winds at Marsaxlokk Harbour.
What the Minister strongly refuted were wrong claims that the interconnector tripped as a result of an overload on the interconnector. This is completely false. An explanation of this was given by the Minister both in parliament on Tuesday evening, and to journalists the following morning.
As explained by Enemalta in its press statement soon after Friday’s incident, the 90-minute power cut was caused by a fault that developed on the Interconnector in Ragusa.
As a result of the immediate actions taken by Enemalta’s engineers and technicians, and through the automation and network flexibility upgrades undertaken in recent years, most customers had their supply restored in less than an hour.
This swift response was also possible due to the availability of the required spare capacity, once again confirming that there was no need to rely solely on the Interconnector, as alleged.
At the time, Enemalta was meeting the country’s electricity demand through various sources: renewable energy systems, the Interconnector, and the Delimara Power Station’s D3 and D2 plants.
In Parliament and in reply to the journalists’ questions indicated above, the Minister explained that the Opposition’s allegation that the Interconnector was overloaded is factually wrong, since the 225MW quoted by the Opposition is not the Interconnector’s overload limit, but its continuous winter rating. In fact, it is purposely designed for much higher loads, exceeding 300MW.
In this regard, the Opposition’s “proof” that the Interconnector was overloaded is clearly mistaken.
What do you make of these claims?
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