WATCH | Robert Abela issues ‘unconditional apology’ after days of power cuts

Prime Minister Robert Abela extended an “unconditional apology” to the public following days of repeated power outages across Malta amid increasingly high temperatures.

Power cuts were reported across Malta on Monday night, with several localities experiencing outages lasting from a few hours to throughout the night and into Tuesday morning.

The disruption coincided with a record-breaking heatwave. Temperatures reached 43.3°C on Saturday, making it the hottest July day ever recorded in Malta, while temperatures remained at around 42°C on Monday and Tuesday.

“While we have done a lot, the challenges are still large,” Abela said, pointing to temperatures that are continuing to rise and persist for longer periods.

The prime minister also referred to the situation across Europe, where several countries have experienced deadly, record-breaking heatwaves and widespread wildfires.

“This is no excuse,” Abela insisted. “My concern is only the people in Malta.”

Abela explained the outages were not caused by insufficient energy generation to meet increased demand, but by problems within the electricity distribution network across Malta and Gozo.

On energy generation, he said further improvements would follow the completion of the second electricity interconnector between Malta and Sicily.

“We want to make sure that episodes such as this do not repeat themselves again,” Abela concluded.