Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545966
AS Malta experiences yet an- other summer of widespread electricity disruptions, the public debate has largely fo- cused on heatwaves, cable faults and emergency repairs. These are undoubtedly part of the story. Enemalta has explained that the unprecedented July tem- peratures placed exceptional stress on the distribution net- work and pushed electricity demand to a historic record of 741MW, exceeding the previ- ous national peak of 663MW recorded in 2023. However, focusing exclusive- ly on the heatwave risks miss- ing the real lesson. Heatwaves do not occur in a vacuum. Infrastructure does not fail in isolation. Electricity networks are designed to serve demand, and demand is ulti- mately a product of planning decisions. The current crisis is best un- derstood not as an electricity failure but as a planning fail- ure. Over the last 15 years Mal- ta has pursued an economic model heavily dependent on construction activity, contin- uous tourism growth and sus- tained population expansion driven primarily by imported labour. Each of these policies have generated economic ac- tivity, but together they also produced a predictable and measurable increase in pres- sure on national infrastruc- ture. The figures tell a remark- ably consistent story. Analysis of official NSO pop- ulation data, tourism statistics and Planning Authority devel- opment trends indicates that between July 2023 and July 2026 Malta's effective sum- mer population increased by approximately 9.5%; residen- tial housing stock increased by approximately 10.2%, and households equipped with at least one air-conditioning unit increased by approxi- mately 12.4%. Peak electricity demand increased by approx- imately 11.8% over the same period. These percentages are not merely similar. They are al- most identical. This is proba- bly the most important finding emerging from the available data. It suggests that the increase in electricity demand was not primarily the consequence of an unusually hot summer, which is also predictable due to the climate change crisis which our earth is experienc- ing. Rather, the heatwave ex- posed structural changes that had already been occurring for several years. By July 2026, Malta was sim- ply asking significantly more of its electricity network than it had been asking in July 2023. Tourism and construction pressures The effective population present in Malta during the peak tourism season increased from approximately 636,000 people to almost 697,000 peo- ple when tourists physically present on the islands are in- cluded alongside residents. This represents an increase of around 60,000 people requir- ing electricity, water, trans- port and public services dur- ing the hottest period of the year. At the same time, tourism itself became increasingly significant. Tourist nights in- creased from approximately 2.53 million in July 2023 to an estimated 3.1 million in July 2026. Average tourist presence on any given day during July increased from about 81,700 persons to more than 100,000 persons, representing growth of over 22%. These visitors are accommo- dated in hotels, aparthotels, guesthouses, short-let apart- ments and other accommo- dation establishments, all of which require cooling during periods of extreme heat. Tourism therefore contrib- utes not only to economic activity but also directly to electricity demand and other infrastructure. Yet despite the obvious im- 8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JULY 2026 OPINION The power cuts were were caused by a failure Spatial planner, environmental manager and heritage professional. He previously worked within the Planning Authority and MEPA, served as CEO of the Environment and Resources Authority and is an environmental activist Ruben Abela Focusing exclusively on the heatwave risks missing the real lesson. Heatwaves do not occur in a vacuum. Infrastructure does not fail in isolation. Electricity networks are designed to serve demand, and demand is ultimately a product of planning decisions