PAHOKEE, Fla. — I spent the day at an apartment complex in western Palm Beach County, where dozens of residents were without electricity.
Florida Power and Light told me they shut off the power due to safety concerns after finding cut wires at the complex in Pahokee.
WATCH: Residents without power for hours after safety concerns
There are 60 units in the Pahokee apartment complex. Not all are occupied, but all are were without power for hours as FPL shut off the electricity Wednesday afternoon.
I showed up here after getting calls from tenants who were livid. They were living without electricity, needing to cook for their families, to heat and cool their water, and to light their apartments up at night.
I reached out to FPL and I asked the utility why it suddenly shut down power.
FPL spokesman Kamrel Eppinger gave me this statement:
“FPL crews discovered a significant safety hazard involving customer-owned equipment at the meters serving three apartment buildings.”
Walter Brady, who identified himself as the property manager, showed me a fourth of the meters had been removed.
“You see them right there that’s uncovered? That’s dangerous,” he said. “If you stick a screwdriver in there, or reach your hand up in there, you’ll die.”
We still have not been able to confirm who removed the meters and I'm working to learn if the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office is involved in the vandalism case.
Those meters, however, were exposed and FPL said they carry an electrical charge.
WATCH: Residents tell WPTV how they managed without power
“I worry about fire,” Megan Mastowski said. “I’m worried about electrical shock, whatever could possibly happen with that type of situation.”
Some tenants tell me there is plenty to worry about.
Danielle Warford showed me an evacuation notice posted in February 2023. She said tenants prepared to leave, but got a last minute reprieve to stay.
“If repairs needed to be made, they should have been made at this time,” Warford said. “We’ve been dealing with this since February 24, 2023.”
Pahokee’s city manager told me he’s working with both the landlord and FPL to restore power as soon as possible.
The power was restored at around 4 p.m. Thursday.
