Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1515420
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 FEBRUARY 2024 THIS IS A PAID COLLABORATION Enemalta is making ongoing impor- tant investments in order to continue reinforcing the electricity distribu- tion system in the island of Gozo, by developing more new substations and increasing connections in various localities through the installation of kilometres of new underground cables. The company explained how in the coming weeks, after the Carnival celebrations, works will start to lay new 11 kilovolt cables in the Nadur area. Works for more new cable con- nections are also planned for other localities, including Xagħra and the Xlendi area, Munxar. These new cables in Gozo form part of a national project which Enemalta has launched last December, in order to ensure a more resilient electricity distribution system in Malta and Gozo by next summer. Such project will include the laying of more than 70 kilometres of new 11 kilovolt cables. With such new cables, Enemalta will minimise the risk of difficulties in the distribution network which could lead to electricity supply interruptions, and in the event that such emergencies occur, there will be enough alternative connections for the technical staff to restore the supply to customers in the shortest time possible. This year, Enemalta engineers and technical staff are planning to install and commission 4 new substations in different localities. They will also continue the works for more laying of cables and to install new 400V/230V aerial lines, such that electricity can be distributed from various substa- tions to the customers residing in the area. The electricity infrastructure in Gozo has witnessed a substantial investment in the last 10 years. Just in the last three years, Enemalta has installed and commissioned 12 new substations, and upgraded 11 more by using new equipment, such as higher capacity transformers and switchgear designed with more modern and secure technologies. The company has also installed automa- tion systems in 55 of its substations. This means that one-third of the substations in Gozo can be controlled from the Enemalta Network Control Room in Marsa, without the need for its engineers to attend on site. Thus, whenever any difficulties arise, action can be taken in a much shorter time. During the same three years, Enemal- ta has also commissioned more than 11 kilometres of new cables, which include 11 kilovolt cables that supply electricity from the distribution cen- tres to the substations, as well as other cables that distribute electricity from the substations to the nearby streets. Besides these underground cables, Enemalta's staff has also installed or replaced around 14 kilometres of aerial lines in the streets of Gozo, that supply customers with electricity. Such length of new or replaced aerial lines amounts to double the length of the channel between the two islands. In 2016, Enemalta invested in a new distribution centre in Xewkija, which increased drastically the security of supply in Gozo, since before such project, Gozo depended solely on the Qala distribution centre, dating back to the eighties. A number of 33 kilovolt cables were laid and commissioned between these two distribution centres, so that should there be any issue with one of these cables, there will be various alternative routes to continue supply- ing electricity in the island. Enemalta also carried out reinforcement works in the main connection that provides electricity supply from Malta to Gozo, by replacing the last section of 33 kilovolt aerial lines that were installed on the large poles that could be seen in the Mellieħa area with under- ground cables, which are less suscep- tible to faults due to bad weather. More new substations and electricity cables in Gozo