The city of Middlesboro has approximately 1,250 street lights, and the cost of keeping those street lights on is about $200,000 a year. Mayor Rick Nelson is requesting that any one who sees a street light that is dim or out to please report it.

“When a street light is out or even dim, we still have to pay for it,” Nelson said. “I would like to ask the community to please report any street light that is out or dim.”

To report a dimmed or out light, the approximate location of the street light is needed.

“We also need the number of the light,” Nelson explained. “The number is in yellow, and you can call the Middlesboro Street Department at 606-248-4601 to report it or you can call Kentucky Utilities directly.”

Nelson also explained that you can leave him a message directly via Facebook to let him know about the outage.

“It would be a real big help to us all if we kept up with the outages and reported them,” he said. “In an earlier meeting with Kentucky Utilities, they did indicate they may switch everything over to LED’s at a later date.”

The city pays a fixed rate on each light and, according to Mayor Nelson, Kentucky Utilities will upgrade to LED’s but the lights will increase per month even though it is saving on electricity.