The Association of Catering Establishments (ACE) has raised concerns over the recent increase of power outages across Malta and Gozo, warning that repeated electricity disruptions are once again affecting catering business during the peak summer season.

In a statement, ACE said the outages had hit establishments in several key localities despite Enemalta's assurances that electricity generation capacity remains sufficient to meet current demand.

The association expressed solidarity with businesses that had experienced disruptions to their operations over recent days and called for immediate, concrete measures to prevent further losses during the remainder of the summer.

ACE acknowledged the deployment of generators to affected localities as a positive step to reduce the impact of outages but said this alone was not enough.

The association said that the catering sector should not continue paying the price for what it described as a recurring problem, adding that effective long term solutions should already have been implemented to avoid a repeat of previous summers.

ACE said electricity was not a luxury but an essential service for both the catering industry and the country as a whole, urging the authorities to take decisive action to ensure businesses are not subjected to further disruptions.