This article first appeared in Malta Today

The highest July temperature in over 100 years beating down on a tiny island suffocated by construction. An island which has built airless apartment blocks requiring air conditioning in every room and which has seen a considerable spike in population 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 Chairman.

Of all the things Ryan Fava could have said to the press, saying that “Enemalta was taken by surprise by the “alarming” demand on the grid and record high temperatures” was the worst possible statement he could have made. The demand for electricity reached a record peak of 713MW, when we know each summer is getting progressively worse due to global warming, and yet his reaction was surprise. 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 – maybe 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 started knocking down houses and turning them into flats as a rental investment for short lets …and this is the result. There was no foresight in giving permits to open restaurants/cafes on every corner, more hotels, more expansions to existing ones, more malls, more supermarkets, more of everything. When the Tourism Minister bragged about 4 million tourists there was no attempt to consider the impact to an infrastructure which 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 government are 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, elderly 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 politicians to show a modicum of respect and solidarity for those suffering in this hellish situation. It was bizarre seeing Darrin Zammit 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 posting 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 independent 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 telling 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 3 or 4 days running I would very likely have killed someone by now. The offer of compensation has also been met with mixed reactions because what people wanted was a reprieve from the heat and immediate 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 eligible was receiving them and people were clamouring to be told where these “mysterious” centres were located. What became patently obvious as the power outages dragged on is that there is no properly organised system in place for national emergencies, and this certainly qualified as one. At the very least, the government should have opened up public buildings which did have electricity, where people could escape the heat.

Fires in buildings have been breaking out everywhere but we have not been told whether they were due to an Enemalta fault, shabby electrical works, or a lack of awareness about fire hazards. An ironmongery shop which has been a family business for 37 years burnt to the ground. We were given the statistics: 55 firefighters were deployed and 175,000 litres of water and 10,000 litres of firefighting foam were used in the operation. But the crucial bit of information which could educate people and prevent further incidents was missing – what was the cause of the fire?

Meanwhile Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar snatched the “tone deaf” prize away from Robert Abela when she saw fit to take this moment to try and push through an Equality Bill through Parliament before it adjourns. After the Opposition (rightly) walked out because of lack of proper consultation, the Bill was defeated. So what did Ms Cutajar decide to do? She posted a reel accusing the PN of being against progress. I mean read the room, please. With a blackout in so many parts of the island, and people gasping for air in homes which felt like ovens, I think this new law was hardly a priority. It is also darkly ironic to talk about progress when a basic human need like electricity cannot be guaranteed.

Where the government failed, private individuals stepped in

Thankfully, during this blistering heatwave we have also seen incredible gestures of generosity from individuals who opened up their homes to strangers. Businesses 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 somewhere cooler. The Mayor of Mellieha personally made an appeal 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 family we can rely on and people were sleeping over at relatives’ homes who did have electricity until theirs came back on. Others who didn’t have this option, especially foreign residents and tourists in air b ’n’ bs had to resort to checking into hotels. The serious 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 national 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 70s, and there were constant public service 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 who was interviewed by the Times. 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 appliances 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 everyone 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 comfortable 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 expensive medicine which needs to be refrigerated and elderly people whose lifts were not working, virtually trapping them in their own homes. If everyone “sacrificed” just one small thing, it could make all the difference.

Government offices should be leading by example, cutting down on electricity consumption as much as possible. Showrooms should not be fully lit during this time. When we were young our parents were always on our backs to “switch off the lights” and maybe we need to get back to that mindset if we do not want a repetition of this past week. 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”.