New temporary emergency power plant arrives at Malta’s freeport

Malta’s energy services provider, Enemalta, announced that the new “emergency generation plant”, otherwise known as a temporary power plant, has arrived at the freeport in Birzebbuga and is being unloaded.

“This generation plant will be used if one of our main generation sources is not available,” Enemalta said in a social media statement.

The 60-megawhatt plant, which cost Government €37 million and is run on diesel, is expected to be fully operational by mid-August.

It comes as parts of Malta and Gozo have been plagued by extended power cuts, the second consecutive summer where this has featured as a major issue in recent years. Just last weekend, some areas in Gzira experienced an extended power cut of 35 hours, as temperatures soar to 30+ degrees Celsius.

The situation over recent weeks also led Enemalta to instal mobile generators in the streets to provide electricity for private residences.

Incredulously, at a political event that took place days ago, Prime Minister Robert Abela said the increasing number of electric vehicles and the recently inaugurated shore-to-ship system are among the factors placing a strain on Malta’s power grid, resulting in power cuts. He did not discuss the rapid increase in population over recent years, rising by 28 per cent or around 121,000 people between 2012 and 2022 as being a main source of increased power demands.

The €37 million Government contract to instal and run the temporary powerplant was awarded to UNEC Ltd, a firm owned by Bonnici Bros. The contract stipulated that it must be up and running by this month, August 2024.

In Saturday’s statement, Enemalta said it will be leasing 60MW of additional generation capacity until the new second Malta-Sicily interconnector is commissioned.

“We are constantly upgrading our electricity infrastructure to secure the provision of electricity,” it added.