Enemalta says Farsons Beer Festival power cut down to organisers not requesting enough power

Enemalta has stated that a power cut during the Farsons Beer Festival on Thursday evening was not caused by a fault in its system, but by organisers not requesting enough power.

Hundreds of people were eager for the opening night of the 42nd edition of the festival, yet midway through the event, the power at the Ta’ Qali National Park went out.

This left many visitors frustrated, especially following a number of power cuts in recent weeks. Leading tourism representatives have previously told BusinessNow.mt that such power cuts are "very bad marketing" for Malta's tourism industry.

On Friday Morning, the organisers of the event told Times of Malta that the power cut was caused by the substation that was supplying power to the area.

However, later on Friday, Enemalta issued a statement saying that the power cut was not caused by its distribution system.

“Enemalta’s technicians and engineers immediately went to the location, where inspections and tests on the substation that supplies the Ta’ Qali National Park found that the provision was fine,” it said.

It stated that following tests, it resulted that the organisers “requested less current than what was required” for the event.

“Enemalta would like to remind people that it is the responsibility of organisers to identify the type of current they need and to prepare according to this need,” Enemalta said.

“While the problem was not caused by Enemalta’s system, our technical teams present on site offered their assistance to the organisers so that they can help solve the issue,” it added.

Later on Friday, Farsons Beer Festival released a social media post thanking attendees, stating that it was a “great start to this year’s edition,” despite the power cut.

“We did indeed suffer a power cut and the standby generator kicked in within 30 minutes. The festival then carried on largely uninterruptedly. The source of the power cut has been identified and is being addressed,” the post read.

The team behind the festival thanked everyone involved, including the performers, for their patience and collaboration on Thursday.