29-05-2025
'Private' street lights create issues for safe streets after hurricane vacancies
The Brief
Some residents in South Tampa are dealing with dark streets because vacant homes no longer pay for attached streetlights.
TECO said homeowners can take over the billing for these "area lights" — but some refuse, saying it's an unfair cost.
Homeowners want the city to step in and pay for these streetlights, but we have not heard from officials.
TAMPA, Fla. - After last year's brutal hurricanes, many Tampa Bay area neighborhoods remain half-vacant as people move back in or sell. Residents in Westshore have noticed their streets aren't just quieter — they're darker.
What we know
That's because some streetlights, once powered by homeowners, are now off when those homes sit empty.
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Elizabeth McCoy, a Tampa resident, told FOX 13, "After the hurricane, many of our neighbors left. They couldn't come back. So they disconnected their utilities. I realized the streetlight was not working, so I just reported it to TECO."
Why you should care
Streetlights in some parts of Tampa are not publicly funded — they're "area lights" attached to private homes. TECO explained to McCoy in an email, "The reported light is currently out of service because we do not have a customer for billing purposes. You can request to have this light turned on and added to your account for a monthly fee."
But McCoy said with already high utility costs, that's not something she's willing to do.
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"I think this is concerning that homeowners have to pay for streetlights when the streetlight is for safety and for the community, not only for one person, especially since we're already paying high taxes here," she said.
What we don't know
We didn't get specific details from TECO on how much these area lights cost a homeowner per month. We also reached out to the city to see if they plan to take over responsibility for lights that face public streets — but we have not heard back yet.
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