PN calls for special compensation for Enemalta workers tackling power cuts
Opposition also demands automatic payments for households and businesses affected by prolonged outages
The Nationalist Party has called for Enemalta employees involved in emergency repair operations during the recent electricity crisis to receive special financial compensation.
In a statement on Thursday, shadow energy minister Mark Anthony Sammut praised workers for putting in long hours under “immense pressure” and in extreme temperatures to restore electricity supplies across Malta and Gozo.
He said frontline employees should not be blamed for what the party described as failures in planning and investment in the electricity distribution network.
“These workers are not responsible for the failures in planning and the lack of investment that led to the crisis,” the party said.
“They are on the front line, working long hours, often in extreme temperatures, to minimise the impact on families and businesses.”
The PN proposed that all Enemalta employees directly involved in emergency operations be given an additional payment in recognition of their work, sacrifice and service.
The demand follows several days of widespread outages as exceptionally high temperatures and record electricity consumption placed sustained pressure on the distribution network.
Thousands of people were left without power, in some cases repeatedly or for several hours, as Enemalta technicians repaired cable faults, deployed generators and redirected electricity through other substations. Localities affected during the week included Valletta, Birkirkara, Fgura, Gudja, Luqa, Mellieħa, Naxxar and parts of the Cottonera area, among others.
Electricity demand reached a record 741MW on Tuesday, up from 713MW the previous day and well above the previous record of 663MW registered during the widespread power cuts of 2023.
Enemalta chairman Ryan Fava acknowledged on Wednesday that the company had not anticipated the extent of the increase in demand or the severity of the temperatures. He said the areas worst affected included those where planned reinforcement works had not yet been completed.
The seven-day heatwave included three consecutive days with temperatures above 42°C, the first time this had happened since records began. The highest temperature, 43.3°C, was registered on Saturday, making it the hottest July day recorded in Malta in more than a century.
The PN said compensating workers should not detract from the need to establish political responsibility for the disruption.
“While the government failed in its duty to plan and invest in the country’s infrastructure, it is these workers who are carrying the burden of the consequences,” it said.
The party said responsibility remained with the government and those who had managed the energy sector in recent years.
Call for automatic consumer compensation
The PN also repeated its call for an automatic compensation mechanism for families and businesses affected by prolonged or repeated electricity cuts.
It said payments should cover losses including food and medicines that had to be discarded, as well as damage to household appliances, machinery and other equipment.
Compensation should be triggered automatically whenever predetermined criteria were met, rather than being introduced as an exceptional measure at the government’s discretion, the party said.
The government announced on Wednesday that households and businesses affected by outages lasting at least six hours would receive compensation under a scheme previously used following other electricity crises.
However, the Energy Ministry did not immediately publish details about the value of the payments or how affected consumers could apply.
The Malta Chamber of SMEs has also called for a permanent and automatic compensation system, arguing that businesses should not have to depend on ad hoc government decisions after every major disruption.
The PN said restoring electricity remained more important than financial compensation.
“More than compensation, what the Maltese and Gozitan people want is to be able to continue with their daily lives, even at the height of summer, as one would expect in a normal country in 2026,” it said.