Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1539444
Andrew Agius Vet and PN election candidate on the 3rd District 6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 SEPTEMBER 2025 OPINION Miriam Dalli From the ground up Minister for the Environment, Energy and Grand Harbour Regeneration Loved This is not work that lends itself to fanfare. It is rarely visible, and yet it is absolutely essential. IT is going to be a long read and a bit of a rant, but if you have pets, this article is for you. Do you love animals? Do you have empathy for the more vulnerable living beings among us? As a child, your instinct would have been to role-play as a vet. Nursing and caring for puppies, kittens, even tiny sparrows fallen from a nest. Or just stuffed animals, filling the obvious shortcomings with imagination. As adults we of- ten envision the vet, working to a backdrop of green rolling hills. The sound of healthy farm animals, run- ning free-range in the fields around him or her. The vet, working in a clinic, a waiting room of patient, obedient pets and kind, smiling owners waiting their turn. The vet, at the zoo or conserva- tion centre, treating wildlife, rear- ing eagle chicks or baby elephants, forming a bond with magnificent beasts of all sorts. Al- most a magical role, moulded and developed by the media we con- sume. I believe no other profession is so romanticised in this regard, in literature, TV and our daily culture. In reality, a more pragmatic view of the vet emerges. On the one hand, there is a concept that the vet is a well-paid professional, re- spected and regarded almost as a mega-doctor. They are well-off, live a comfy life and are relatively light on responsibility as they do not deal with the ethics and moral pressures of human life. This is the dream image of a vet for parents willing to fork out the thousands of euros necessary for their child's educa- tion in the field, and for the student considering to join this sector. In a more sinister light, for cli- ents who are constrained to inter- act with the profession because circumstances force them to, they are in it for the money, with no scruples on the life and well-being of our animals. They care not for the needs, or the limitations, of the clients. In the latter case I say con- strained, since in most cases clients choose to interact with a vet voluntarily to ensure the health and well-being of their pets. A healthy vet-client relationship In general, people respect our role and for the vast majority of pet owners the vet-client relationship is a healthy one, borne of trust, expe- rience and understanding. Clients generally understand what their vet offers, trust in their judgement, in- vest in a healthy and long-standing vet-client relationship and will eventually accept the out- comes of their work, whether pos- itive or not. They trust the fact that the veterinarian is looking out for their interests, and more impor- tantly, the interest of their beloved animals. It is also true that in some cas- es, the pain of loss can temporar- ily dampen this relationship. We know too well the pains of losing a pet, the heartache and grief and the need to heal from such a trauma, especially if the loss is unexpected and sudden. The vet-client rela- tionship can sometimes be a victim of this pain. This happens more so if the vet-client relationship is not robust enough or if shortcomings happen during a time of need. It is, after all, a rela- tionship, and needs constant care and attention to fully reach its po- tential. So, without condoning any form of abuse, some form of neg- ative feedback can be expected in these instances. There are cases where, either due to a lack of experience, or a lack of understanding in caring for pets, there is no vet-client relationship. This tends to be the main cause of emergency panic posts on so- cial media, and highlights evident AS summer comes to a close, people I meet have all told me how different this summer felt, thanks to the steady, month-after-month work carried out by Enemalta over the past two years. Our distribution system is a living network. It requires maintenance, continued improve- ment. There will be hiccups along the way but our strategic investments are working. Local- ity by locality, the results are being felt in peo- ple's homes and in daily life. Enemalta continued its work this summer, quietly but determinedly, to strengthen the backbone of our country's electricity system. With the support of the ministry, it continued pressing forward with critical infrastructure projects, because we know the country cannot afford complacency; not in summer, not ever. In 2025 alone, Enemalta has already com- missioned 42 new substations and increased the capacity of 65 others. These directly trans- late into better service, fewer outages, and more reliability for thousands of households and businesses. And we are not slowing down. This work is part of a broader, sustained effort to reinforce the national electricity distribu- tion system. Our distribution centres—the engine rooms of the national grid—were also strengthened. At Buġibba, we commissioned a new 30MVA transformer, increasing capacity by 50% and improving supply reliability for 25,000 clients in the areas of Buġibba, Qawra, and St Paul's Bay. Similar capacity upgrades are underway at the St Andrew's distribution centre, where works are progressing steadily. In Msida, full modernisation is underway, including the complete replacement of outdated equip- ment. Once completed, the capacity of this centre will double. In parallel, works on two major new distri- bution centres in Naxxar and Siġġiewi are progressing rapidly. The cable network for the Naxxar centre has been completed and works are underway to link the Marsa distribution centre with the new Siġġiewi centre. The lat- ter involves the laying of 70km of cables. Both centres are expected to be operational by June 2026 and will directly benefit 24,000 Enemalta clients in the surrounding areas. The reinforcement of Malta's energy back- bone continued also through strategic expan- sion works. At the Mosta distribution cen- tre, extension works have begun to expand switchgear at the 33kV level, increasing both capacity and system flexibility. A new 132kV high-voltage link between the Magħtab terminal station and the Mosta dis- tribution centre is also underway. This project will be essential to the national grid once the second interconnector between Malta and Sicily is commissioned, strengthening the re- silience of our national grid on a high voltage level. But the 2025 milestones were built on strong foundations. The previous year, over 83km of new medium-voltage underground cables were installed in various localities across Mal- ta and Gozo. This was one of the largest sin- gle-year deployments of new cables in recent history and formed the first phase of a broader national reinforcement plan. In the second phase, we implemented an accelerated rollout of additional connections between distribution centres and substa- tions, including 63km of medium-voltage underground cables and over 11km of new low-voltage cables. Throughout 2024, we also commissioned 166 new low-voltage feeders. That year, Ene- malta delivered 57 new substations and car- ried out upgrades or modernisation works on 76 others. This helped reduce fault risk across the grid. Simultaneously, we launched a major EU-funded initiative to lay 15km of new un- derground cables in Birkirkara, Marsaskala, and Mġarr. These works are now in their final stages and will further stabilise the network in some of the country's fastest-growing locali- ties. All of these projects are part of a long-term strategic vision; one that isn't driven by crisis, but by careful planning and anticipation of fu- ture needs. Studies are already being carried out for further expansion of the distribution system to meet demand in the coming years. We are assessing the need for additional dis- tribution centres and even preparing the groundwork for a new high-voltage link be- tween Magħtab and Gozo, which would rep- resent a step-change in Gozo's energy security and resilience. Digital modernisation is also part of our vi- sion. A new low-voltage control room is cur- rently under development. Once operational, it will allow Enemalta engineers and techni- cians to monitor and manage the low-voltage network remotely from the Marsa admin- istrative building, ensuring faster response times and better real-time visibility of net- work conditions. This is not work that lends itself to fanfare. It is rarely visible, and yet it is absolutely essen- tial. It is the difference between stability and disruption. Between confidence and anxiety. Between political leadership that plans ahead, and politics that waits for problems before acting. The demands on our national electricity sys- tem are increasing; from economic growth, record tourism, rising population, electrifi- cation of transport, and new development. It reflects a country on the move. Our responsi- bility is to ensure that the energy system keeps up. This is why we did not rest this summer. And why we will not pause in the months and years ahead. Our energy future depends on resilience, reliability, and responsibility—it's what we're delivering.