The widespread power outages experienced across Malta this week during an intense heatwave have exposed the vulnerability of both our electricity infrastructure and built environment, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar said Saturday.

Reports of people sleeping in their cars to access air conditioning, vulnerable residents struggling with dangerously high indoor temperatures, and businesses forced to suspend operations due to the loss of electricity showcases how exposed our communities have become to extreme weather events.

While restoring and strengthening the electricity network is fundamental, FAA stresses that equal attention must be given to reducing the demand placed on the grid, particularly during periods of extreme heat. Climate resilience cannot be achieved through infrastructure upgrades alone; it also requires buildings that consume less energy and remain comfortable as temperatures continue to rise. The European Union recognised this challenge through the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (2010/31/EU), which Malta transposed into national law through the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations (Legal Notice 376 of 2012).

These regulations established minimum energy performance requirements for buildings, introduced Energy Performance Certificates, and have since been strengthened through subsequent amendments, including updated provisions that came into force in 2024. Not only are the standards set forth in regulations considerably diluted in comparison with what we've known to be required for decades, these regulations have been ignored despite of our over-population.

Energy performance requirements continue to be treated by some developers as an optional exercise rather than a fundamental part of building quality. At the same time, the Planning Authority and Building and Construction Authority's permitting process is largely ignoring energy performance which need to be implemented and verified.

Banks, which play a key role in enabling development through financing, are also failing energy performance considerations consistently as in project assessment. Failure to align Malta's building regulations with the EU Directive (2010) is resulting in buildings with unnecessarily high energy demand, particularly during summer.

Beyond new developments, existing buildings must be retrofitted with insulation through government incentives and bank financing. As Malta's population and development grow, electricity demand will continue to increase. To further reduce pressure on the grid, schools, hospitals, factories and other buildings with large roofs must be required to install solar panels.

FAA said it believes Malta must now strengthen its approach by:

ensuring that the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations are enforced, with effective checks throughout the planning and construction process;

requiring the Planning Authority and Building and Construction Authority to verify compliance rather than relying solely on declarations;

seeing that banks and financial institutions to incorporate energy performance into development financing decisions;

supporting energy-efficient retrofitting of existing buildings;

promoting passive design solutions and urban greening to reduce heat stress;

expanding rooftop renewable energy generation and energy storage where appropriate.