Malta–Sicily interconnector

The Malta–Sicily interconnector is the submarine power cable which connects the power grid of Malta with the Italian Transmission Network managed by Terna, which is part of the European grid. It was constructed in 2014-2015, and supplies roughly 1⁄4 of Malta's electrical power.

Malta–Sicily interconnector
Ragusa's substation.
Location
Country	Malta Italy
General direction	north–south–north (bidirectional)
From	Magħtab, Naxxar in Malta
Passes through	Malta Channel
To	Ragusa in Sicily, Italy
Ownership information
Owner	Enemalta
Construction information
Manufacturer of conductor/cable	Nexans
Cable layer	C/S Nexans Skagerrak
Construction cost	€182 million
Commissioned	2015
Technical information
Type	Submarine cable underground cable
Type of current	HVAC
Total length	120 km (75 mi)
Power rating	200 MW
AC voltage	220 kV

Technical characteristics

The 95-kilometre (59 mi) long subsea cable starts at Magħtab, Qalet Marku in Malta and it runs to Marina di Ragusa in Sicily, Italy. ^[1] From there it is connected to the Ragusa substation, which is of the Italian TSO Terna, via a 25 kilometres (16 mi) underground cable.^[2]

The cable and 132/220 kV substation in Malta is provided by Nexans. The cable has capacity of 200 MW and it uses 220 kV high voltage alternating current. The interconnector is operated by Enemalta, the Maltese power company.^[3][4] In the 2014 the cable was laid in the sea by the ship C/S Nexans Skagerrak of the Company Nexans.^[2] The interconnector became operational in March 2015. The project cost €182 million.^[5]

Economic impact

The cable allows Malta to exchange electricity with the Italian power market, i.e. the island can both import and export electricity from Italy through the interconnector. The creation of this subsea cable ended Malta's previous electricity's isolation and diversified its mix of energy sources. In February 2015, European Commission underlined that Malta's interconnection level would go from 0% to approximately 35% with the new interconnector.^[6]

Problems

In December 2019 power outages in Malta were being caused by a failure of the interconnector cable having been damaged by a ship's anchor. In 2019 the interconnector supplied 23.1% of generated power.^[7]

Sites

Site	Coordinates
Substation of Ragusa	36°52′47″N 14°40′53″E
Italian submarinecable terminal, Marina di Ragusa	36°46′48″N 14°34′10″E
Maltese submarinecable terminal, Qalet Marku	35°56′36″N 14°26′59″E
Substation in Magħtab (in project)	35°56′19″N 14°26′17″E

The bay of Qalet Marku, Maltese terminal of the submarine cable.

See also

• Energy in Malta
• Energy in Italy
• List of high voltage underground and submarine cables
• Pylons of Messina – Historic high-voltage towers in Italy