The Lidl supermarket chain has said it will reduce electric lighting of its stores by 25 per cent for a month in a bid to help reduce strain on the national electricity grid.
The announcement follows a challenging week for residents and businesses up and down the country amid widespread power cuts during a record heatwave.
The outages, which affected localities across the country – some for multiple nights on end – were attributed to “alarming” demand on the grid and the record high temperatures by the state energy company Enemalta.
In a Facebook post Monday, Lidl said it wanted to “ensure we are doing our part to support local infrastructure and households across the islands”, before announcing that all of its 12 stores across Malta and Gozo would reduce internal lighting for a month starting Monday.
“By taking proactive action during peak demand hours, we aim to lower our electricity consumption and ease strain on the national grid,” the supermarket chain said. “During times like these, taking immediate, practical action for our community matters most.”
Demand on the grid reached a record 741MW last Tuesday, placing “sustained stress” on the grid, according to Enemalta.
A few days earlier, the director of the University of Malta’s Institute for Sustainable Energy advised people to limit air conditioning to temperatures of 25°C or 26°C to help ease pressure on the electricity supply.
Luciano Mulè Stagno noted that excessively low air-conditioning settings increase electricity demand without necessarily improving comfort, adding that residents should also avoid using high-energy appliances such as washing machines during peak heat hours.
In 2022, the government introduced air-conditioning limits and lighting rules for all government and public sector entities, bar hospitals, as global energy prices skyrocketed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a surge in demand following the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar public sector energy-saving schemes were introduced by governments across Europe.
The power outages last week caused chaos for some businesses across the country, in particular the hospitality industry; short-let accommodation operators in Valletta last week complained of guests leaving early and demanding refunds after being left without electricity for more than 30 hours.
Meanwhile, eateries including Vittoriosa’s well-known Tal-Petut restaurant described cancelled bookings, failed payments and rising costs resulting from the blackouts.
The energy ministry last week announced that those who experienced outages of six hours or more during the heatwave would be compensated for their losses.
The prime minister said yesterday that Enemalta had been told to “significantly accelerate” its work strengthening the power distribution network. He described the power cuts as “unacceptable”.
