Streetlights: Maintenance
The County owns and maintains approximately 28,000 streetlights and leases another 40,000, owned by utility companies. The County lacks the resources to proactively perform inspections to identify malfunctioning lights and primarily relies on its residents to report them. Malfunctioning streetlights may be reported using one of the options described below. Please note that your contact information is desirable in case we need to reach you for additional information, but is required if you would like status updates.
- Report a streetlight malfunction using the County map
All County-owned lights are plotted and will display when the address and/or nearest intersection is entered in the “Search” field. It may take up to 20 seconds to display the lights. The vast majorities of the leased lights are not plotted and will not display on the map. Please report these lights using the following options.
- Report a streetlight malfunction using the County Service Request Form
Please specify the malfunction type and provide pole number and/or pole address
- Report a streetlight malfunction with 311 online
or call 311 and report the streetlight malfunction to the customer service representative.
Service requests are processed within one business day and maintenance crews are dispatched to the site within 5 business days. Repairs can range from simply replacing a light bulb to more extensive work, or even no power, which will require a longer time to repair. However, if a taped RED “X” appears on the streetlight pole, a “NO VOLTAGE” condition (no power) has been identified and the local utility company will be notified to restore power to the streetlight. This process may take several weeks or months to properly complete the repair.
Please visit our frequently asked questions web page for additional assistance.
We have provided the following utility company links for your convenience:
Allegheny Power (AP)
Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE)
Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO)