Power cuts: The Partit Nazzjonalista speaks about people’s suffering while the Government speaks about how much it has invested

The PN Leader says electricity is not a luxury; the Government must shoulder responsibility for the failure of an essential service

The Leader of the Opposition and Partit Nazzjonalista Leader Alex Borg today called on the Government to shoulder political responsibility for the crisis in the electricity supply, insisting that thousands of families and businesses are paying the price for years of inadequate planning and investment in the country’s infrastructure.

During an urgent debate in Parliament requested by the Opposition in light of the regular power cuts affecting the country, Alex Borg said that these repeated outages can no longer be regarded as a mere inconvenience. They are causing genuine hardship for families, older people, vulnerable persons and businesses suffering substantial financial losses.

“It is unacceptable that, in 2026, Maltese and Gozitan families are still spending long hours in the dark, without a fan, without a refrigerator and, in some cases, without the medical equipment on which they depend. In a European country, electricity is a fundamental right, not a luxury,” Alex Borg said.

He thanked Enemalta workers for their commitment in difficult conditions, while stressing that responsibility cannot be placed on them, but on those who had an obligation to plan and invest in good time.

Alex Borg noted that the Government has been warned about the vulnerability of the electricity network since the crisis of 2023, while a report by the National Audit Office confirmed that investment in the high-voltage network was insufficient to keep pace with population growth, development and rising demand for electricity.

He asked why, despite the promises and investments announced in recent years, the country remains dependent on temporary generators every summer and why families continue to be left without an essential service.

The Leader of the Opposition called on the Government to publish a full account of the faults that occurred in recent weeks, including how many localities and households were affected, how long the interruptions lasted, how many compensation claims Enemalta received and what infrastructural work remains pending.

Alex Borg also announced that the Partit Nazzjonalista is insisting on a series of immediate measures, including:

• an automatic compensation mechanism for households left without electricity for extended periods;

• compensation for food, medicines and equipment that have been damaged;

• a fast-track process for vulnerable persons and small businesses;

• substantial improvements in communication with consumers;

• priority for people who depend on medical equipment.

At the same time, the Partit Nazzjonalista is calling for structural reform of the national electricity network, with planned and transparent investment measured against actual demand, clear service reliability standards and a national emergency plan that anticipates heatwaves before blackouts occur.

For her part, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli not only failed to apologise to the Maltese and Gozitan people for this failure, but initially claimed that the Partit Nazzjonalista was exaggerating. She then repeated the same speech she delivered in 2023, when the country was facing the same situation, listing the work that had been carried out and explaining that this was a nine-year plan. In other words, she told people that they still have more summers of heat and darkness ahead of them.

“People are not asking for privileges. They are asking for a service for which they are already paying. The Government must stop looking for excuses and start providing solutions. Our country deserves modern infrastructure, a reliable service and a Government that anticipates problems instead of always arriving too late,” Alex Borg concluded.

20.07.2026