Opinion: We’re Told Malta Is Thriving – So Why Are Families Still Living In The Dark?

I started working in the Lovin Malta newsroom in July 2023. It was my first summer covering Malta’s widespread power cuts and seeing first-hand the impact they had on people’s…

I started working in the Lovin Malta newsroom in July 2023. It was my first summer covering Malta’s widespread power cuts and seeing first-hand the impact they had on people’s lives. I remember reporting on families left without electricity, businesses struggling to cope and the frustration felt across the country.

Naively, I believed that by the following summer, things would be different.

Instead, three years later, we’re still here.

Every day we’re receiving messages from people who have been left without electricity for days. Some have reported going four consecutive days without power during one of the hottest periods of the year.

That simply should not happen in a modern European country.

At the same time, we’re repeatedly told that Malta has never been better. In an interview, Prime Minister Robert Abela said: “The reality is that people have money in their pockets. You can see this from the number of new boats that have been purchased. It’s massive.”

He also said: “The greatness of the Labour government is that many things that were previously considered luxuries have now become affordable to many people.” But what good are these supposed luxuries when people can’t rely on something as basic as electricity?

The image of a prosperous Malta is completely undermined when entire neighbourhoods are left in the dark, food spoils in fridges, businesses are forced to close their doors and families spend sweltering nights without air conditioning or even a fan.

Perhaps one of the clearest signs that something is fundamentally wrong is that a 22-year-old citizen felt the need to create a community power outage map because people believed the official information wasn’t accurately reflecting the scale of the problem. Residents have taken it upon themselves to document outages across the island because they feel the system has failed them.

What has been inspiring throughout all of this is the response from people. Restaurants and cafés have opened their doors so residents can charge their phones. Businesses have done everything they can to reduce losses while still helping customers. Neighbours have checked on neighbours. Communities have stepped up when others needed them most.

It’s heartwarming to witness, but it’s also difficult to ignore the fact that, at times, private businesses and ordinary citizens appear to be providing more immediate support than the authorities responsible for ensuring essential services.

What is even harder to understand is why it so often feels as though the government’s answer is an “unconditional apology” followed by financial handouts, while the underlying problems remain unresolved. At times, it feels as though the government believes that throwing money at people will make them forget the bigger issues.

But no cheque or one-off payment can make up for days without electricity, spoiled food, interrupted businesses or families trying to survive another night in the dark. People don’t just want money in their pockets. They want functioning infrastructure.

We keep hearing that Malta is thriving. That we’re richer than ever. That we’re moving forward. But no country can seriously claim to be modern while entire localities are repeatedly left without one of the most essential services for days on end.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about the basic expectation that in 2026, people living in Malta should be able to switch on a light, keep food in a fridge and get through a heatwave without wondering when the next power cut will hit.

It’s time to stop accepting this as normal. Because it isn’t.

Charlene Galea is the Content Manager at Lovin Malta.

Lovin Malta is open to interesting, compelling guest posts from third parties. These opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of the company. Submit your piece at [email protected]

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