May 13--The Palm Beach Mall, already facing a $55.4 million foreclosure suit, was hours away from having its electricity turned off this month because it had not paid its bill to Florida Power & Light, according to a city spokesman.

In addition, the troubled shopping center risked having its water service shut off because it has not paid West Palm Beach water bills, city spokesman Peter Robbins said.

The utilities problems come a month after the mall's owner, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group Inc., was sued in Palm Beach County Circuit Court for allegedly failing to make payments on millions of dollars in loans due to J.P. Morgan Chase Bank. The lawsuit was filed by ORIX Capital Markets LLC on behalf of Wells Fargo Bank, which is the trustee for the J.P. Morgan Chase Bank loans.

The foreclosure suit came after years of tenants being cleared out by Simon Property Group in anticipation of redevelopment. A stalled economy put those plans on hold but left the 42-year-old mall nearly empty.

Caught in the middle are frustrated shoppers and merchants, and now, West Palm Beach taxpayers.

The latest issues came to a head the week of April 27, when FPL notified the city it might need to mobilize police and fire-rescue personnel on May 1.

That was the day FPL was set to shut off power at the county's first indoor shopping mall, on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard near Interstate 95.

Robbins said emergency meetings were held to discuss an evacuation of the 1.2 million-square-foot mall because sprinklers and other fire-safety equipment cannot work without electricity. City officials also were concerned about making sure people did not reenter the mall once the power was out, he said.

But Simon, the nation's largest shopping center company, finally did send an undisclosed payment to FPL. The money was received at 8 a.m. on May 1 -- four hours before the deadline.

That same day, Simon also finally paid $29,184 toward outstanding city water bills going back to March, Robbins said. The delinquency could have resulted in the Palm Beach Mall's water being turned off May 8.

Despite the foreclosure and the utility bill glitches, Simon said it has not "abandoned" the mall. But the center's future is far from certain. The $27,948 April water bill, which was due May 7, remains unpaid.

FPL spokeswoman Sarah Marmion declined to comment on the mall's electric bill, saying she could not share customer information.

The near shut-off came as news to the smattering of stores still open at the near-vacant center.