Parliament may have gone into summer recess, but the work in its committees - particularly its Public Accounts Committee (PAC) - continues.

The first PAC meeting of this legislature was held on Wednesday, and it was every bit as contentious and thorny as PAC meetings tend to be, with disagreement on the subject matter of what the committee should be discussed starting from the very beginning.

The Opposition members on the PAC had filed a request to kick off the committee's work by discussing an NAO report which two years ago exposed serious problems in Malta's electricity distribution network during the summer of 2023, when Malta was affected by widespread power cuts.

The NAO report in question had concluded that there were serious shortcomings in Enemalta's planning and investment and a lack of investment in the distribution network. 

It had offered a damning indictment: the actual expenditure on the network was significantly lower than the allocated budgets and declined despite rising demand. Between 2014 and 2023, spending on the distribution network was cut to one-third of the level recorded before 2014.

Since then, the government has said that it has spent €140 million on upgrading the country's distribution network - yet during a heatwave last week, the same power cuts which afflicted the nation in 2023 reappeared.

The Opposition's request for a discussion on this first report however was denied by the government, who opted to have it postponed until November.

The Government members on the PAC formally requested that the Auditor General update his report, which covered the situation up to 2023, to also reflect the extensive work and investment undertaken between 2023 and 2026, saying that this would offer the best picture possible for a discussion to take place.

In a press release while the meeting was ongoing, the government announced that this request had been made and made it seem like that the NAO was analysing the last three years of investment due to this request.

This suggestion is misleading: the NAO's Auditor General Charles Deguara told the members of the committee that a follow-up on the NAO's report published in 2024 had already been started, and had actually been ongoing for over a month.

The government and the Labour Party are trying to take credit for a decision that the NAO had already taken independently over a month ago.

One can understand the logic that it could be worth waiting for this follow-up report to be drafted and published, and then be able to analyse its contents - but one can also understand this is a very current issue, and that it warrants discussion right now.

The biggest and most cardinal fact is that Malta faced a heatwave in 2023 which resulted in the power grind not being able to cope with electricity demand, and therefore left tens of thousands to sweat out the heat in the dark.

Fast forward to 2026, the outcome remained unchanged: Malta faced a heatwave, the power grid was not able to cope with the demand, and tens of thousands were left to sweat out the heat in the dark.

The people will have to wait until at least November for a discussion to take place within one of Parliament's most important committees on the matter.  By then, the power cuts will most likely be long forgotten and summer would be long gone.

It's something of a political gamble by the PL, because if come November the NAO issues a report which finds that Enemalta's investment in the country's electricity grid remains bereft with shortcomings, then it will be the greatest indictment of the government's energy credentials yet.

But, unfortunately, the people are going to have to wait to see whether that's the case or not.