The power supply at the Swieqi local council office and the police station, located in the same building, was cut over a week ago because of an unpaid bill exceeding €20,000, deputy mayor Justin Fenech said.

The council moved into the civic centre last year and never received a bill, he said, adding power was disconnected on June 24 and the building had since been powered by a generator.

It turned out that the building, part of which was leased by the council, had a temporary electricity meter in the name of the Infrastructure Ministry and bills were sent to the ministry, he said.

Dr Fenech said that, on June 24, council members were in a meeting and thought there was a normal power cut. However, when the electricity was not restored, Enemalta was contacted and the council was informed the supply had been disconnected due to an unpaid bill dating back to 2012, when the centre was built.

Dr Fenech said talks were being held with both Enemalta and the government to try and find a solution. He urged the authorities to sort out the matter as soon as possible.

An Enemalta spokesman confirmed that talks with the council were in progress. Speaking in general terms, he said that when a service was suspended due to payment default, it was restored within 24 hours from payment. He said Enemalta usually issued several payment reminders as well as a final suspension notice at least a week before the supply was disconnected.

Questions sent to the Infrastructure Ministry remained unanswered at the time of writing.

The €800,000 Swieqi civic centre was announced in 2011 and was officially inaugurated in February 2013, a month before the last general election.

The council was handed the keys to the offices a year later and the police station was opened last August.