PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Numerous lights remain unlit across the barrier islands. On Wednesday night, streetlights were out along Causeway Boulevard, and on Coronado Drive, only one of the two lights on some poles was functioning.
It’s something Ryan Brusko said he couldn’t help but notice.
“My biggest thing is that I’m out riding my bike at night and, you know, it’s a safety issue,” he said.
Brusko contacted 8 On Your Side, explaining that he reached out to nearly every city along Gulf Boulevard regarding the streetlight issues. He was advised to get in touch with Duke Energy.
“So, I approached Duke, and they mentioned, ‘Well, each light needs to be reported individually.’ This turns into quite a significant task for one person. However, I’m here just trying to have the lights turned back on,” Brusko explained.
He said since August he’s reported 300 streetlights out. He marked them up on a map on his phone.
“I’ll come out, snapshot the actual pole number, and attempt to determine which light is out if there are multiple on the pole,” Brusko added.
He said many of the lights have come back on, but not enough to where he thinks there is no longer a safety concern.
Duke Energy sent the following statement:
“Duke Energy Florida has roughly 520,000 streetlights in our 35-county service region. About 150,000 of these are in Pinellas County. To date this year, Duke Energy Florida has been notified of 58,000 light outages, though not all are maintained by us. Typically, 97.5% of lights are fixed within 3 days after being reported. We greatly value our customers and seriously consider their concerns.”
8 On Your Side reached out to FDOT, which owns some of the other lights, and is waiting for a response.
Brusko said he just wants to see someone take initiative to get this done.
“I figured it’s been a year already, and, you know, it’d be helpful to get some lights back on. It’s getting darker earlier,” Brusko said.
You can report streetlight outages you see to Duke Energy, and they will help determine if the light is theirs.
