Monday morning the lights went out at Maria Alcala's home and still without power even though CPL apparently accidentally ordered it to be turned off.
"I have 2 properties and they were supposed to turn off the power in La Feria and instead they turned it off here."
The company sent a crew out to restore power, but she's still in the dark.
"When they came to put the service back on, they saw the box for the meter."
The lid of the box looks to have sustained some damage.
"They're saying it's dangerous, but this doesn't move at all."
After 5 years at the home on Citrus Terrace, Maria, her husband, and six children, the youngest only 5 months old are facing weeks without electricity because the AEP says the damage to the meter box could pose a danger.
Maria is baffled saying the box has looked the same way since she moved in and now is having to fork out money for something she says has never been an issue before even when crews checked the box after Hurricane Dolly.
"I got an estimate from an electrician to fix the box and they told us it would be about $2,000."
Money Maria cannot come up with in time for her kids first day of school next week.
"It's really hard you know. We can't come up with money like that by just snapping your fingers."
Maria's kids are staying at the homes of different family members as she and her husband sweat it out trying to find a solution to a problem she says she didn't create.
"It wasn't our mistake, it was theirs. They need to fix it. We need our light."
We talked to a spokesperson for AEP who says the damaged box is a major safety concern, regardless of how it got that way, and they will not reconnect power until it's fixed.
Maria is trying to get lower quotes from other electricians for repairs to the box.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT