Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545966
THE highest July temperature in over 100 years beating down on a tiny island suffocated by con- struction. An island which has built airless apartment blocks requiring air conditioning in every room and which has seen a considerable spike in popula- tion and mass tourism. We have long said Malta's infrastructure will collapse and yet the only one who was surprised by the surge in demand and inevitable power cuts seems to be the Enemalta executive chair. Of all the things Ryan Fava could have said to the press, say- ing that "Enemalta was taken by surprise by the alarming demand on the grid and record high tem- peratures" was the worst pos- sible statement he could have made. The demand for electrici- ty reached a record peak of 741MW, when we know each summer is getting progressively worse due to global warming, and yet his reaction was sur- prise. He reminded me of that silly British woman who took out her camera phone as soon as she landed in Malta and started squealing about the heat—may- be she thought she was going to Iceland. What on earth did he expect? There was no planning before the construction industry went on steroids and everyone start- ed knocking down houses and turning them into flats as a rental investment for short lets. This is the result. There was no foresight in giving permits to open restaurants/cafes on every corner, more hotels, more ex- pansions to existing ones, more malls, more supermarkets, more of everything. When the tour- ism minister bragged about four million tourists there was no at- tempt to consider the impact on infrastructure that cannot even sustain its current population of 588,000. I am not writing this with a sense of schadenfreude. I find people who are gloating that things are falling apart because it reflects badly on the Labour gov- ernment as being short-sighted themselves. After all, we are the ones suffering as a consequence of blinkered policies. I find no joy in bashing Malta and seeing my country disintegrating into shambles, while knowing that there are those who have been without electricity for four days or more. Those who are ill, el- derly people, babies and pets are the ones bearing the brunt of having to survive this unbearable heatwave with fluctuating power surges and damaged appliances. This is not to say we should not hold the government directly accountable. We should and we must. I don't want to know what the PN did or didn't do in their day and frankly, it's irrelevant. Labour is running the show and has been for the last 13 years. To quote the famous catchphrase from Olly and Hardy: "Well, here's another fine mess you've got us into." First of all, what we should be demanding is for Labour politi- cians to show a modicum of re- spect and solidarity for those suf- fering in this hellish situation. It was bizarre seeing Darrin Zam- mit Lupi's photos of a Valletta plunged in darkness while a few steps away people were partying to the tunes of Katy Perry under bright lights during the Isle of MTV. But it was even more of an insult and a slap in the face to see politicians attending it and post- ing about how successful it was. If you are going to be so clueless as to attend this event (even if it was being powered by an inde- pendent generator) at least do the decent thing and don't post about it. The lack of political nous constantly astounds me. This was a national crisis but national leadership was sorely missing. Everyone was telling the prime minister where he could stuff his "unconditional apology". And please stop tell- ing us that the whole of Europe is suffering a heatwave. So what? That's hardly any consolation if you are soaked in sweat and cannot sleep. If I didn't have electricity for three or four days running I would very likely have killed someone by now. The of- fer of compensation has also been met with mixed reactions because what people wanted was a reprieve from the heat and im- mediate solutions. The Health and Promotion directorate announced cooling centres and was sending SMS messages to those over 75 and those with chronic conditions but on social media it was clear that not everyone who was eligi- ble was receiving them and peo- ple were clamouring to be told where these "mysterious" cen- tres were located. What became patently obvious as the power outages dragged on is that there is no properly organised system in place for national emergen- cies, and this certainly qualified as one. At the very least, the gov- ernment should have opened up public buildings which did have electricity, where people could escape the heat. Where the government failed, private individuals stepped in Thankfully, during this blister- ing heatwave we have also seen incredible gestures of generosity from individuals who opened up their homes to strangers. Busi- nesses which were not affected by the power cuts were offering respite, with no obligation to buy anything, which in this day and age is rare indeed. Several local councils also stepped up and opened up their doors for people to recharge their phones or simply go some- where cooler. The mayor of Mellieħa personally made an ap- peal on behalf of a family with a two-month-old baby, who were then given free accommodation by the Paradise Bay hotel. Luckily, most of us have fam- ily we can rely on and people were sleeping over at relatives' homes, who did have electricity until theirs came back on. Oth- ers who didn't have this option, especially foreign residents and tourists in airbnbs had to resort to checking into hotels. The seri- ous lack of action by the powers that be was at least compensated for by ordinary people; we saw a coming together of communities who became pro-active and took it upon themselves to help each other. Paradoxically, the more everyone reached out to help, the more glaring it became that the authorities had been caught wrong-footed. This crisis should have spurred an immediate na- tional task force to come up with practical solutions and advice and ways to lessen the strain on the grid, which is what created the power cuts in the first place. I remember the energy crisis in the States in the 1970s, and there were constant public ser- vice announcements on how to conserve electricity and fuel. One very good explanation was given by the director of the University of Malta's Institute for Sustainable Energy Luciano Mule Stagno. He pointed out that not only should we all keep air conditioning at no lower than 25 celsius, but we can also avoid using high consumption appli- ances during the day, which are putting a heavy load on the grid. When the power keeps going on and off at certain times of the day it is clear that is when every- one is switching things on at the same time. Another suggestion is for everyone to stay in one room (if possible) to only use one air con. Unfortunately, on the down side, I've also seen comments saying, "why should I have to do that, I have a right to be com- fortable in my own home". It is precisely during times like this that people's characters rise to the surface. This is when we have to stop being selfish and think about the greater good. There were people who were throwing food away, searching for somewhere to store expen- sive medicine which needs to be refrigerated and elderly people whose lifts were not working, virtually trapping them in their own homes. If everyone "sac- rificed" just one small thing, it could make all the difference. With August around the cor- ner we can expect the temper- atures to climb again so the authorities need to get their act together; the last thing we need is for them to tell us once again that they were "surprised". 3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JULY 2026 OPINION Josanne Cassar She has worked in the field of communications and journalism for the last 30 years The long, hot summer of 2026… you reap what you sow With August around the corner we can expect the temperatures to climb again so the authorities need to get their act together; the last thing we need is for them to tell us once again that they were "surprised"