The Nationalist Party has issued a statement renewing its call for government action to be taken and for Energy Minister Miriam Dalli to assume political responsibility after power cuts have continued to affect several parts of the country near the end of August.

The PN said on Thursday that "we have reached the end of August and, contrary to everything the government tried to promise and portray, the crisis in Malta's electricity distribution system is still with us and the problems remain unresolved."

The party said that in recent days alone, residents, businesses, and families in Mosta, Tarxien, Żejtun, Fgura, Paola, Santa Luċija and St Julian's, among many other localities "have endured serious hardship after spending long hours without electricity, with some even left without power for more than an entire day."

The PN noted how this crisis reached particularly distressing levels when a care home for older persons in Gżira was left without electricity for half a day.

This resulted in residents not being able to have their meals prepared for them, with some eventually being taken by relatives because they could no longer cope with the situation.

"Several businesses and commercial establishments were also left with no option but to suspend operations and remain closed," the PN said.

The PN said that "all his is happening after a series of empty promises that the problems would be resolved, and after Minister Miriam Dalli boasted of €140 million in expenditure over the past three years - spending which has clearly failed to give people the reassurance they were promised."

The Nationalist Party wrote that "despite this ongoing debacle and the repeated failures in the system," Minister Dalli still hasn't assumed political responsibility.

It said that throughout this time, Prime Minister Robert Abela and his Labour government "continue to refuse to debate and bring to a vote the motion of no confidence in the Minister, which calls on her to assume political responsibility for this failure."

Last month, the PN parliamentary group filed a motion calling for Minister Dalli to resign or be removed from her ministerial role. The motion also sought to "strongly censure" her and for Parliament to declare its distrust in her following the spate of power cuts experienced earlier this summer.

In addition, it noted that government MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) refused to discuss the National Audit Office (NAO) report from two years ago, "which clearly highlighted the lack of adequate planning and investment in the grid during the preceding ten years."

"To date, we have heard nothing concrete about the fair compensation owed to all those - families, older persons, and businesses - who have suffered hardship, financial losses, and major inconvenience," the PN said.

The PN has once again insisted that such compensation should be provided for in law and paid automatically by the operator to all those who are deprived of the service.

Noting that "the Maltese and Gozitan people have had enough of excuses, empty words and the waste of public funds without results," the Nationalist Party has reiterated its call for Minister Dalli to assume political responsibility; and for the National Audit Office (NAO) report to stop being blocked from discussion before the PAC, something the PN called "unprecedented."

It also called for a dedicated helpline to be established for vulnerable people whose health is put at risk by power outages; for a transparent regulatory framework for automatic compensation to all consumers and businesses affected by these repeated outages; for a "full and detailed account of how the €140 million that was meant to prevent this crisis was spent"; and for Enemalta's accounts from 2022 onwards to be published.

The statement was signed by the PN's Shadow Minister for Energy and the Environment, Mark Anthony Sammut.