Ryan Callus accuses government of no plan, Miriam Dalli hits back citing massive infrastructure spend

The Shadow Minister for Energy, Ryan Callus, has accused the government of not planning ahead in the face of its own economic model and climate change.

“Climate change was no big secret, we knew it was coming, and the Labour government did not do anything to plan ahead,” Callus said on Monday.

In a debate with Energy Minister Miriam Dalli on TVM’s Xtra, Callus also quoted an NAO report proving that the government reneged on spending.

In response, Dalli said the Labour government had made massive investments over the past 10 years, investing a billion euros in the energy sector.

“We never told people, ‘We have a problem; we are not investing,’” Dalli said. “We are doing everything we can, and we will do more.” She said she understood the frustrations of those who were denied electricity but argued that these issues were swiftly addressed.

Callus argued that the government’s failure was evident by the number of generators appearing in the streets to supplement irregular electrical supply. In response, Dalli said there was a significant amount of fake news on the matter. She explained that unlike last year, the locations that endured the longest power cuts were Kerċem, Gozo, and Gżira, where one area experienced a power cut for at least 19 hours. Dalli insisted that the PN’s allegation that each locality in Malta has a generator is also untrue.

Responding to Callus’ claim that these issues result from Malta's current economic model, Dalli acknowledged that the rapid economic growth, “unseen in Nationalist times,” had put a strain on energy, but she argued that nothing surpassed the massive investment made.

She also referred to long-term renewable energy efforts, claiming that Malta had increased its renewable energy dependence from 2% to 13%. When asked if Malta would still face power cuts a year from now, Dalli said that the changes being carried out to set up new substations and upgrade the distribution system were in full swing.