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Elizabeth Woman, 75-Year-Old Mother Without Heat As Temperatures Drop

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ELIZABETH (KDKA) -- A woman and her 75-year-old mother have been living without electricity in their Elizabeth home for months, and their landlord says it will be another week before it's restored.

Kristen Caldwell threw another log on the fire Friday afternoon, trying to keep herself and her mother, Patricia Caldwell, warm in the freezing cold of their mobile home. Right now, the fireplace is their only source of heat because they have no electricity.

"Me and my 75-year-old mother have to sit here in the cold, worrying every day where we're going to get wood and making sure my animals don't die," Kristen said.

The electricity was shut off a few months ago and the family paid their bill, but before their power is restored, the electric box outside has to be replaced because it was tampered with. Kristen says the landlord was supposed to fix the electric box, but the landlord says West Penn Power has to be present to inspect the box before the power can be restored.

According to the landlord, West Penn Power is short-handed and won't be able to send a technician to the home until Jan. 8.

"We stay warm at night and bundle up during the day. I got my winter coat on. Usually I have a sweatshirt on, a sweat jacket on and then my winter coat," Patricia said.

"Can't get showers, can't do dishes. It's just getting harder and harder every day. I mean, it's getting harder on our personal souls to live like this," Kristen said, "and we paid the bills, so there's no reason it should take this long for them to come out and turn the electricity on for us."

Temperatures were in the low 20s on Friday afternoon, and they're expected to drop down into the single digits overnight over the weekend. If nothing changes, Kristen and Patricia will be inside their home trying to stay warm.

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