Reporting streetlight outages gets easier
Reporting a streetlight outage in Oklahoma City is a little easier this month, after an update to electric utility OG&E's website.
The Oklahoma City Council has been under pressure to respond to the proliferation of nonworking streetlights across the city, and has transferred that pressure to OG&E, which is responsible for maintaining the vast majority of the lights.
Tuesday, the city council was briefed on the website update, which enables residents to report a nonworking light and get a tracking number to monitor the progress of repairs.
To find the reporting form, go to OGE.com and, on a desktop computer, look for the link in the bottom right-hand corner.
On a smartphone, choose the menu link in the upper left, click on “Outage Center,” then choose “Report Street Light Outage” from the dropdown.
Public Works Director Eric Wenger told the council a list of more than 20 areas in need of repairs had been whittled down to a handful in the past month.
Areas where significant outages persist include two bridges and a stretch of Interstate 35 south of downtown Oklahoma City.
Those repairs are complicated by the necessity of having the Oklahoma Department of Transportation close lanes of traffic so work can be done, he said.
Wenger said one new wire theft had been reported, at the I-35/Interstate 240 interchange. OG&E blames theft of copper wire for highway lighting outages.
“This list is much, much shorter than the one that we presented at the end of March and we're working very diligently to have no list very soon,” Wenger said.
Wenger released a repair schedule in March and promised to have all lights back on by the end of September.
There are about 34,000 streetlights in the city, most owned by OG&E, others by the city of Oklahoma City. OG&E is responsible for maintaining all but a small number downtown.
Lights are out and will remain out in construction zones at the Interstate 235/Interstate 44 interchange, at I-35 and I-240, and the west section of the Oklahoma City Boulevard.