Opposition leader Alex Borg questions government power investment

Opposition Leader Alex Borg challenged the government's electricity record after widespread power cuts hit Gozo over the weekend of 30 August 2026. Speaking on Nationalist Party media, he said the outages show that Malta's infrastructure has failed to keep pace with a growing population and increasingly hot summers. "You have to distinguish between the numbers and reality," he said.

Borg was in Gozo during the outages and spoke directly with affected residents. "These are not things that should be happening in 2026," Borg said. He recounted speaking to a woman whose father depends on an oxygen machine.

She feared she would have to take him to hospital because the power cut had endangered his equipment. Borg said outages are not simply an inconvenience: vulnerable people reliant on medical equipment face real danger. Some hotels and Airbnb properties also reportedly moved families and tourists out after losing electricity.

Energy Minister Miriam Dalli has cited €140 million as the government's investment in the electricity network. Borg questioned where that money was spent, given that outages continue. He also alleged a discrepancy in how Enemalta, the state energy company, presents fault data on its outage map: during the weekend cuts, he said, high-voltage faults were visible across the map while low-voltage incidents were not shown, contradicting the government's characterisation of the problem as low-voltage in nature.

Borg compared Malta's reliability unfavourably with Dubai and Qatar, which face similarly extreme heat but, he argued, do not suffer equivalent outages. "Where is the regulator? Where is the person checking the regulations and protocols?"

he asked. The PN is seeking a meeting with the Malta Chamber of SMEs to discuss the impact of power cuts on businesses. Borg said the Opposition intends to raise these issues in Parliament when it resumes in approximately five weeks.

On the Yorgen Fenech jury trial, Borg said the PN appointed a technical team to monitor proceedings and deliberately held back from public comment to avoid influencing the jury. He said the party would speak once the case concludes. Borg also criticised the Labour government for reducing the powers of local councils.

The PN would push for greater local council representation at the next local elections, he said. The party is preparing an Independence Day event Borg described as different from previous years, focused on returning to the party's roots. The PN also launched a consultation on proposed legislation to establish a commission for equality and human rights.