JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Fried appliances, spoiled food, wet clothes are all things to expect during hurricane season. However, it wasn’t a hurricane that caused a power outage for one couple in a Fruit Cove community.
Michelle Penson and her husband Mark Penson say things went awry when a JEA employee randomly showed up at their home on a Saturday to upgrade their electric meter.
"It was so strange," Michelle Penson said.
Michelle Penson was tidying her house and doing laundry when someone knocked on the door. She was surprised to find it was a JEA employee.
At that point, Michelle Penson says the damage had already been done.
"He said, 'I'm sorry, but there's been an incident at your electricity box, and we need to turn off your power,'" she recalled.
While upgrading the electric meter to a two-way, or “smart meter,” an arc flash occurred, knocking out the Penson's power for four days.
"It was definitely an inconvenience," she said.
The Pensons lost two full fridges and freezers of food, had no air conditioning, were in the middle of doing laundry and their daughter was in the middle of submitting her college applications online.
Michelle Penson says the only way she knew the man was from JEA was from the JEA truck outside. Mark Penson, called the sheriff. A JEA supervisor also came to the residence.
JEA says of its employees, "A JEA shirt and JEA hard hat need to be worn, and an ID badge."
Though the employee was wearing a JEA shirt, Michelle Penson was still concerned.
"He could not show me a badge, he could not show me a work order, he couldn't show me anything to say that he was assigned to do work at our home," she said.
The Pensons confirmed the man was a JEA employee, but residents in the community have been complaining about JEA's unannounced maintenance work on their meters for years, saying they also faced the same power outages.
Mark Penson posted in their community Facebook page asking if residents had faced similar situations. Many of them said they had. Some were more fortunate than the Pensons and were able to power down their homes before JEA started working on the meter. Others also faced outages.
"We've had a lot of neighbors come back and say they had similar occurrences," Michelle Penson said.
JEA says, "JEA is only responsible for the electric meter, and no other accessories pertaining to the electric meter," like the lever to power down the meter inside the meter can. JEA says the employee switched the lever off, but the power still surged.
JEA and electricians say homeowners don't need to worry about the lever, but JEA does say any accessories in the electric meter can are the responsibility of the homeowner. But the meter itself is the responsibility of JEA.
JEA says it’s the Pensons' responsibility because it was an issue with the lever, not the meter. The Pensons disagree.
They’re filing a claim to get back the $2,100 they paid for the emergency electrician to fix the damage.
JEA is installing two-way meters for all of its customers. A spokeswoman tells First Coast News there is no way for residents to opt-out of the upgraded meter.