PN Shadow Minister for Energy and the Environment Mark Anthony Sammut has hit out at the government following another round of reported power cuts across Malta and Gozo, linking the outages to what he described as years of insufficient investment in the country’s electricity distribution system.In a statement following yesterday’s outages, Sammut claimed residents across a long list of localities in both Malta and Gozo were left without electricity.Sammut said affected areas in Malta included Qormi, Żebbuġ, Żabbar, Żejtun, Attard, St Paul’s Bay, Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, Balzan, Birkirkara, Birżebbuġa, Għaxaq, Ħamrun, Iklin, Kalkara, Marsa, Marsaskala, Marsaxlokk, Mellieħa, Mosta, Msida, Santa Venera, San Ġwann, Swieqi and Siġġiewi.In Gozo, he listed Victoria, Munxar, Nadur, Qala, Fontana, Għajnsielem, Għarb, Għasri, Sannat, Xagħra, Xewkija and Żebbuġ among the affected localities.Sammut took particular aim at Prime Minister Robert Abela’s position on the relationship between Malta’s population growth and its energy needs.According to Sammut, Abela had said a day earlier that population growth does not affect energy demand, a position the PN MP used to question the government’s planning and investment in the electricity network.“No wonder there has been a lack of investment in the electricity distribution system over the years,” Sammut said.He accused Abela and Energy Minister Miriam Dalli of turning Malta and Gozo into a “Christmas tree” since Abela became Prime Minister, referring to recurring electricity outages affecting different parts of the islands.Sammut argued that Malta’s population growth should have been accompanied by the necessary investment and planning to ensure the country’s infrastructure could cope with increased demand.He accused the Labour government of failing to adequately plan for that growth and insisted Malta needed a government focused on addressing the challenges facing the country.The criticism follows reports of electricity outages across Malta and Gozo, with Sammut putting the blame squarely on the government’s handling of the country’s energy infrastructure.What do you make of his statement?•