The Swieqi local council and police station have been running on a generator for a week after the electricity was disconnected because of a pending bill of over €20,000.

Swieqi deputy mayor Justin Fenech confirmed that the electricity at the Swieqi Civic Centre, that houses the council and the police station, was disconnected on June 24. The council, that leased the property a year ago, never received any bills, he said.

He said the council was informed, when it enquired with Enemalta, that the electricity had been disconnected due to an unpaid bill dated from 2012 - when the centre was built. The bill covered the whole civic centre and amounted to over €20,000.

Mr Fenech explained that when the offices were built, a temporary meter had been installed in the name of the Infrastructure Ministry, which meant bills were sent to the ministry, he explained.

Dr Fenech said the council leased the premises from the government a year ago and, since then, it had not received any bills or warnings.

He added that the council was in contact with Enemalta and the government to try and solve the problem. He called on the authorities to sort out the matter as soon as possible.