After Grech call, Energy Ministry says households will receive power cut compensation

Updated with government reaction 

The Nationalist Party has requested an urgent meeting with the members of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) to discuss the ongoing power cuts crisis affecting the Maltese and Gozitan people.

In a statement, Grech ainsisted that Energy Minister Miriam Dalli must take responsibility for the ‘promises not kept’ and resign immediately.

“Everything is being brought out into the open – the Government has not invested properly and for that we are facing this continuous crisis due to the lack of planning and investment in the infrastructure by the Labour Government in the last 10 years.”

The leader of the Nationalist Party pointed out that despite Dalli's claims that “2023 was a record year for investment in energy infrastructure,” the Auditor General found that the government invested less in 2023 than it did in 2014, arguing that this is “another reason why Miriam Dalli should resign immediately”.

Grech said the power outages are having a severe impact on daily life, noting that many people are facing "long hours without light," which is also affecting businesses. "Many are having to put up with generators outside their homes that are creating continuous noise and polluting the air." He called on the government to compensate those who suffered due to the power outages.

Grech also criticised Prime Minister Robert Abela’s ‘lack of confidence’ in his colleagues in the Labour cabinet due to him ‘abandoning the country at the height of crisis’ without appointing an Acting Prime Minister – which is usually done according to the constitution.

The Nationalist leader said the country needs a government that invests in providing a better life for all the people. “I don’t want anyone to relive the national crisis that they lived through last summer and the blackouts that are affecting us in light of the last days and weeks,” Grech said.

Government reaction

Reacting to the Opposition leader’s statements, government said that while Grech aims to meet social partners, Miriam Dalli has already met with the MCESD and will continue to discuss solutions, “including the largest investment in the country's electricity distribution system.”

The ministry said the social partners were involved in the existing compensation scheme which would also be applied this summer. 

It said social partners are continually updated on the distribution system investments, including 82 kilometres of underground cables, 32 new substations, work on 36 transformers, and the replacement of 22 switchgears this year. Government said this forms part of an intensive plan building on recent energy sector reforms.

The first phase of this investment covered areas like Wied il-Għajn, Kalkara, Bormla, and others in Malta, as well as several locations in Gozo. The second phase, already underway, includes work from Marsa to Siġġiewi and various other locations in Malta and Gozo, aiming to reinforce and expand the infrastructure.

“A responsible government provides solutions as it has done in recent years when it maintained stable energy bills during international crises, as seen with the completion of a new LNG power station, the first interconnector, and ongoing work on the second interconnector,” it said.