A portion of the Confederation Building will be without power into next week, while some offices have been relocated following an electrical short caused by what appears to be a significant water leak.

The Department of Transportation and Works says the power outage, affecting the north end of West Block, occurred last Tuesday.

The outage was caused by a water leak on the roof of the building which caused an electrical short in a high voltage conductor.

The situation has forced the temporary relocation of a number of government departments for those still working from Confederation Building, including Health and Community Services, Education, and Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation.

Officials say the impact on government operations has been minimal.

Fire and life safety systems in the building have not been affected, nor has the basement or sixth floor.