Week after week, as summer begins, several localities are once again left without electricity, "forced to endure extreme heat despite the Government's promise that the problem had been resolved," the PN said in a statement.

"Summer has arrived, the heat has set in, and the Maltese people are once again having to resort to reading by candlelight. In recent weeks and days, several localities have reported power outages, with many residents left without electricity for long hours - including during the night," it said.

"Areas affected in recent hours include Tarxien, Paola, Żabbar, Fgura, Marsaskala, Żejtun, Qormi, Birkirkara, Balzan, Naxxar, and Għargħur."

Some of these localities have experienced hours-long outages for the second consecutive week, following similar disruptions last week in Naxxar, St Paul's Bay, St Julian's, San Ġwann, and Ta' Sannat in Gozo, the PN said.

"We have now spent two years being promised a stable electricity service during the summer months, but it seems this summer will bring more of the same. This, despite the fact that the Government and Minister Miriam Dalli assured us a solution had been found."

"After the so-called solution involving a temporary powerstation running on diesel-powered generators and rented generators placed outside people's doors and beneath their bedroom windows, we were told that this summer would not see further electricity cuts. Yet these outages - particularly now as the heat intensifies - are taking a heavy toll on everyone, especially the elderly and vulnerable, as well as those who rely on electricity for medical purposes. Shop owners, especially those whose businesses also depend on power, are also suffering."

"All this is the result of a government that does not plan ahead - a government that fails to take seriously the urgent need to invest in infrastructure that meets the demands of an ever-growing population, a population growing without proper control, and whose strain is now collapsing our energy systems, just as summer begins. And it is Maltese and Gozitan families who are paying the price, in the quality of their daily lives."

"Our country and our people deserve far better than a Government in chaos - a Government that has reduced Malta to a land of generators," the PN said, in a statement signed by Ryan Callus, Shadow Minister for Energy, Research and Innovation

The Opposition's empty rhetoric reflects the populist politics of the Nationalist Party - PL

The Opposition criticises that too much work is being done, while at the same time claims that not enough investment has been made, the PL said in response.

"The Nationalist Opposition remains stuck in the politics of the past - partisan games instead of serious proposals. The only solution proposed by the Opposition is to privatise the distribution system: had that happened, not only would they have abandoned the energy sector, but prices would have gone up."

"The Labour Government had already launched the largest investment in the electricity distribution sector, and this increased significantly over the past two years. This continuous and ongoing investment is not only strengthening the distribution system, but also giving Enemalta more flexibility to intervene more quickly in case of faults. The poverty of thought is further evident in the Nationalist Party's statements, with its spokespersons not even understanding the difference between a supply system and a distribution system."

"The Labour Government remains committed to recognising challenges and addressing them seriously through sustained investment. Work is ongoing, and the facts speak for themselves. No slogan can deny this. The Nationalist Party's empty statements, full of buzzwords and incorrect facts, are certainly not the way to address the challenges the country is facing," the PL said.