At Orange City Council’s meeting on Tuesday night, councillor Jeff Whitton raised concerns about the number of non-working lights and others which turned on and off, particularly around intersections. 

General manager Garry Styles said he was aware of the problem and there had been a spike in complaints.

“We need to check if there’s been any change in the circumstance of the inspections of lights or whether the entity only responds when council or a resident raises them,” he said.

Lighting cost the council almost $669,000 in the past year and councillors also complained of the same concerns in 2013 and 2015. 

Responses from the community on Thursday revealed at least 11 locations where streetlights were out or flickering.

Nile Street resident David Radel said a streetlight outside his home had been turning on and off at random for the past year, which was a particular concern for wife Kerry, who regularly worked late.

“It’s so dark because the nearest streetlight is some distance away and she feels like she needs to get inside as quickly as possible,” he said. 

MAP: Where residents have reported broken or blinking lights … 

Essential Energy northern general manager Mark Summers said the provider conducted six-monthly night patrols of streetlights on main roads, but relied on the community and council reporting other streetlight faults.

He said there were currently 13 streetlights reported, with the bulk registered this week.

“Orange City Council is aware of the streetlight inspection services provided by Essential Energy and the avenues available to report faulty streetlights identified during night-time patrols,” he said. 

Mr Summers said last financial year, Essential Energy repaired 3076 streetlights across the council area, with 2601 identified by Essential Energy and repaired within two days on average.

He said following the 2015 concerns, Essential Energy inspected every standard streetlight in the area and  replaced every lamp.

“Essential Energy has been working with Orange City Council around the next cycle of this program, including the option of moving to LED streetlights,” he said. 

Faults can be reported by calling 13 20 80, visiting essentialenergy.com.au/streetlights or the NeatStreets app.