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The Malta Employers Association harshly criticised the government for causing the power outages, saying businesses and households were bearing the brunt of “others’ mistakes”.
The report cited a report published by the National Audit Office last month, which said the recent blackouts were due to “historical investment in high-voltage networks that has been insufficient to fully mitigate current socio-economic and climate conditions”.
“Business and industry have therefore had to pay the price for a decade of neglect of infrastructure investment, which, combined with a lack of planning to match the increase in energy demand from a rapidly growing population, has led to a crisis in Malta’s energy and distribution systems, affecting people’s quality of life and causing operational disruptions for many businesses,” the report said.
The employer lobby group said the promised compensation did not make up for the “serious shortfall” and that while a temporary crisis expected in 2023 could be made up with a one-off payment, the situation could not be remedied through repeated payments.
“Businesses have the right to expect a stable energy supply, which is a very basic prerequisite for investing in Malta,” it said. “The use of generators and auxiliary power supplies sends a clear signal to the country and the rest of the world that our infrastructure is inadequate, overburdened and ill-prepared. The country’s panic measures are proof that our authorities are fighting fires rather than developing a long-term strategy to ensure security of electricity supply.”
Malta’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said that delays in the implementation of the second interconnector, coupled with the deterioration of the distribution system, were turning Malta into a “third world country”, leading to a decline in its competitiveness and reputation as a destination for foreign direct investment.
The Association calls for a political consensus to address this issue through a long-term holistic energy plan to ensure that the energy infrastructure is in line with Malta’s current and future needs.
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