Power outages persist in Golden Gate Estates amid relentless heat

Persistent power outages are still leading to people watching their power go in and out, making it difficult to cool their homes during the relentless heat.

Lee County Electric Cooperative said these are blinks that are caused by excessive loading due to the high temperatures.

The power problem in Lee County becomes prevalent when people get home from work or school, around 5 p.m. People in Golden Gate Estates believe the power outages are triggered when people get home from work and they crank up the air conditioner, turn the TV on, charge their phones and more.

Carol Pereira has lived in Golden Gate Estates for 15 years.

“If there’s a cloud in the sky, the TV goes out, the phone goes out, the internet is awful, and it flickers, and lately, it’s been flickering a lot,” said Pereira.

Although, lately, it’s getting increasingly worse in terms of power outages and record heat.

“Sometimes we leave because the AC is out. Sometimes I just don’t have the AC on. It’ll get like 83, 84 degrees in the house. It’s not comfortable. It’s really stressful,” said Kayla Benson.

Benson is a mother of four, which means the inconveniences impact her times six.

“Often we’re displaced. I cook dinner at my mother-in-law’s house, because they can’t, you know, obviously finish dinner,” said Benson.

Many people in Golden Gate Estates told WINK News they’re dealing with it and are used to it. At this point, they simply expect their power to go out.

Then there are those who depend on the electricity.

“My husband and I and my 90-year-old mom,” said Perreira, “and I also have a five-pound pup and a cat, so yeah, we need electricity.”