How to Report a Faulty Street Light

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: December 3, 2022 References

A faulty street light puts citizens in danger and should be fixed immediately.^{[1]
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Research source} If you've noticed a broken street light near you, you should do your public duty and notify someone so it gets repaired as soon as possible. Unfortunately, knowing who to contact and what to do is not always so apparent, and it varies depending on where you live. Luckily, the process is similar in many places and is incredibly easy to do once you know where to look.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Determining Who to Contact

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Dial 3-1-1 to connect with the right organization. Dialing 3-1-1 will put you in touch with a local operator that will be able to connect you to a multitude of government services.^{[2]
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Research source} It's the number that you should call if you have a non-emergency situation and need more information about city or town services. Ask the operator if they could connect you to the organization that handles street lights, and they will connect you with the department that you need.
- In places like San Francisco, there are over 2,300 different telephone numbers associated with government services. ^{[3]
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Contact your local Department of Transportation if you live in a city. Major cities like New York City, Seattle, and Baltimore have a local Department of Transportation that handles the repair and replacement of downed or faulty streetlights. If you live in a major city, contact your local Department of Transportation by searching them online or using the Yellow Pages.
- Los Angeles has an entire department dedicated to repairing faulty street lights called the Bureau of Street Lighting.
- In Boston, they have an agency called The Street Lighting Division that handles street light repair.^{[4]
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- The government department you contact will vary depending on which city you live in.
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Look online or read an electric bill if you live in a town. If you reside in a smaller town or municipality, then it's possible that a private company handles street light outage issues. Find the energy company's contact information on the top of a bill, if the outage is local, or search online by typing the company name into a search engine.
- Some communities have a community choice program which allows residents to choose energy providers.^{[5]
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  Research source} Call the provider to see if they are the ones who handle street lights.
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Call the public works department in your municipality. Most municipalities and cities have a public works department that oversees essential things like trash collection, transportation, and utilities. They will be able to point you in the right direction when it comes to a downed streetlight. Visit your local city or state's government website to find the contact information for the public works department near you.
- Searching "Public Works" and your city's name in most search engines will also help you find what you need.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Reporting a Faulty Street Light

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Be as specific as possible. Write down the streets and intersection where you spotted the faulty street light. Determine exactly what's wrong with the light so that you can communicate that to the person taking down the report. Is the streetlight dimmed, completely out, or flickering? This information will allow them to repair the streetlight faster and more efficiently.
- Using a notepad or your cell phone you can write, "Streetlight flickering, northeast corner of 7th and King."
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Call the department that handles streetlights in your area. If you've been able to find the information on who handles street lights in your area, then you can give them a call to report it. Make sure to be polite but straightforward and give them as many details as you can.
- For instance, you can say, "Hello how are you today? My name's James Smith and I'm calling to report a broken streetlight. It's at the northeast corner of Jackson and 5th and it doesn't light at all. I noticed it this morning."
- Some departments have operating hours, so check the website before you give them a call.
- If you get a machine you may have to leave a message. In this case report what's wrong with the light, where it is, and the time and date that you noticed that it was faulty.
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Report the street light outage online. Some companies and government agencies will have an outage map that allows you to report a street light online, and others will have a form that you can fill out to report the faulty street light.^{[6]
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Research source} Go through the automated process online and give as many details about the fault as you can.
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Send an email to report the street light outage. Instead of having an online form, some municipalities or cities choose to use direct email. If this is the case, create an email and provide the location of the street light, what was wrong with it, when you saw it, and your contact information in case they need to contact you in the future.
- The subject of your email can be something like, "Reporting a Faulty Street Light at 15th and Dickinson."