THE current level of street light outages in Kiama has been declared "unacceptable" by Kiama Council.
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The council resolved to write to Endeavour Energy, requesting it conduct a regularly scheduled audit and maintenance program.
Cr Neil Reilly raised concerns about the number of street light outages in parts of Kiama in May.
As a result, the council conducted a night-time audit and a "significant" number of outages were recorded.
The council calculated that Kiama LGA had about 2000 street lights. The audit on June 2 recorded 130 outages, which meant about 6.5 per cent of the municipality's street lights were not working.
Last year, the council paid $377,513 to operate street lights, which comprised $164,818 for energy charges to AGL and $212,695 in infrastructure charges to Endeavour Energy.
Council's bill is based on the number of street lights in the area and council is charged regardless of whether the lights work or not.
"The fact is we pay electricity charges for the lights whether they are on or off," Kiama mayor Brian Petschler said.
Council, last week, resolved to write to Kiama MP Gareth Ward regarding the issue.
It also resolved to advertise Endeavour Energy's phone and online reporting details to encourage residents to report outages directly to the company.