Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1524066
11 EDITORIAL maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 17 JULY 2024 ENEMALTA'S reaction to the National Audit Office's high-level review of the power outag- es in July 2023 was shameful, to say the least. The company, which is majority State- owned, stuck to its line that the multiple pow- er outages were purely the result of the ex- traordinary eight-day heatwave. The NAO did acknowledge the impact the heatwave had. In its review, which took a 10-year time window between 2014 and 2023, the NAO also looked at meteorological data to track the behaviour of average temperatures. There is no question that the prolonged heat- wave was the primary reason why 83 joints on the high voltage network failed, causing wide- spread disruption. But the NAO also looked at the level of in- vestment in the high voltage network over the same 10-year period, the demand pattern and economic growth. The exercise showed that despite an increase in demand and substantial economic growth, investment in the high volt- age network decreased. It is true that Enemal- ta invested in the low voltage network – the section of the grid that connects to the final consumer – but this was not complemented by increased expenditure in the high voltage network. This lack of investment contributed to the weaknesses in the high voltage grid that were exposed when the extraordinary heatwave hit. The abnormally high temperatures served as the trigger for the failures that occurred but they also found a high voltage network that was not in its best state. The logic behind the NAO's conclusion is supported by the very same actions Enemalta took as soon as the crisis abated. Since the July 2023 events, Enemalta has ripped open kilo- metres of roads to lay new cables across var- ious localities in a bid to strengthen the high voltage network and increase its resilience. The company said it laid and connected 80km of cable and the process is ongoing after government injected millions of euros more into the project. It is thus incomprehensible how Enemalta simply wrote off the NAO's findings as "an opinion". In its response to the NAO review, which was reproduced in its entirety in the re- port, the company denied that a lack of invest- ment contributed in any way to the fracas ex- perienced in the summer of 2023, blaming the events purely on the extraordinary heatwave. If lack of investment was not an issue, as Enemalta claims, then why did the company spend millions of euros more than original- ly earmarked to lay new cables over the past year? If lack of investment was not an issue, why did Enemalta rip open our roads in a flur- ry of works over the past 12 months? Enemalta's own actions since the heatwave debacle support the NAO's conclusions that lack of investment in the network was a con- tributing factor. Why Enemalta should write off the NAO's conclusions as "an opinion" when the facts as determined by the company's own behaviour in the aftermath dictate otherwise is beyond belief. Enemalta's reply reflects the arrogance of the company's bosses. Rather than trying to minimise the NAO's findings, Enemalta's bosses had better explain why investment in the high voltage network over the past decade did not match the higher demands that were being put on it by a grow- ing population and a more affluent society. But then again, like ostriches burying their heads in the sand, it would appear everybody else is wrong except them. If this is the case they may care to explain why after July 2023 the company went into an extraordinary frenzy to bolster the network; or was this a waste of taxpayer money to pla- cate consumer anger? Enemalta's pathetic reaction simply shows that the apology the company's top brass made last year during the debacle was nothing more than empty words. We expected much better. The arrogance of Enemalta's bosses maltatoday MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: KURT SANSONE EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt dations which they had ac- cepted from member states on the establishment of a human rights body (similar to recom- mendations they accepted in 2018 but have yet to accom- plish), and a consolidated law on equality and anti-discrimi- nation. Apart from the issues raised by Humanists Malta, there were also recommendations from member states on better treatment of migrants; elim- inating racism, gender dis- crimination and gender-based violence; treatment of the dis- abled; protection against child abuse; help for the victims of human trafficking; ensur- ing freedom of the press; and tackling climate change, all of which jar with the optimistic picture painted by the Maltese government's input to the re- view. We sincerely hope that, be- yond promises and optimism, the review, including our sub- mission and subsequent state- ment, leads to tangible im- provements in the respect for human rights in Malta, howev- er difficult some of them might seem in the current political climate. While there was progress to note, and the Maltese government accepted most of the recommendations made by other states, there remain many areas of concern