Power cuts costing restaurants far more than spoiled food, ACE President warns

Power cuts have left several restaurants counting the cost of damaged equipment, Association of Catering Establishment (ACE) President Michelle Muscat has warned.

Speaking to MaltaCEO.mt, Ms Muscat flagged damaged equipment due to power fluctuations as an even more serious problem for restaurants than food inventory loss. 

“Restaurants need to plan their investments out. They can’t simply go out and spend €25,000 on a new oven overnight because their old was damaged in a power cut,” she said. 

“Many pieces of restaurant equipment are computerised these days. If a motherboard is damaged, repairing it alone can cost around €1,000.”

Some restaurants, such as The Aft Galley, have even contemplated shutting down entirely due to the financial impact of power cuts.

“Something has to be done to properly compensate these people,” Ms Muscat said. 

“Most of us pay our bills in full and on time, yet we're losing bookings because customers cancel when the power goes out.”

“At the same time, we still have to pay our staff and cover the cost of repairing or replacing damaged equipment.”

In an earlier statement, ACE said it is seriously concerned at the power cuts and insisted on immediate tangible solutions to ensure local catering establishments don’t experience further loss during the summer season. 

“The deployment of generators to various localities is a positive action to mitigate the damage caused, yet certainly not enough,” ACE said.

“It is unacceptable that the catering sector has to pay a hefty price for a perennial problem for which solutions or better, concrete measures should have been adopted so as to ensure past experiences be avoided.” 

“ACE notes that electricity is not a luxury but a basic need for the catering industry and the nation at large.”