Faulty streetlights remain a priority for the municipality
Recently, there have been frequent, prolonged outages of streetlights in various parts of Voorschoten. These outages can occur on a single street or across a larger area. The municipality would like to explain why this is happening and what it is doing to minimize the inconvenience as much as possible.
There is a lot of excavation work taking place in Voorschoten. There was also a lot of excavation work over the past year—for example, due to the installation of fiber-optic cables. Excavation work always carries the risk of damage to power cables.
If cables are damaged, they are repaired on the spot. However, a fault can also occur much later or in a different location than where the work is being done. This is because the underground cables follow a long route. In that case, a test vehicle must first locate the fault before it can be repaired.
What are we doing about it?
When work is being done on cables and utility lines, the municipal inspector monitors the work to ensure it is carried out properly. If there is damage or a malfunction, we contact Liander to have it resolved as quickly as possible. If a home has lost power, Liander prioritizes resolving that outage first. Street lighting is addressed next.
When the municipality receives a report of a malfunction, someone goes to check it out on site. If the streetlight pole or the light is broken, we have it repaired. This is because the municipality owns the streetlights. If the problem is with the power supply, the municipality reports it to Liander. Liander is responsible for the cables and supplies the electricity. Liander tries to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. But sometimes that isn’t possible right away—for example, because the ground needs to be dug up, there aren’t enough staff, or there’s another outage elsewhere that’s more urgent.
On the map
The municipality’s influence on the schedule is limited. Liander decides for itself where and when the outage will be resolved. However, the municipality can report the severity of the outage and urge a prompt resolution. Given the current staff shortage at Liander, however, the problems persist. This is the case both in the municipality of Voorschoten and in neighboring municipalities.
The municipality continues to urge Liander to resolve the outages as quickly as possible. In response to the outages, it has been agreed that Liander will provide the municipality with weekly updates on the various outages. In addition, the alderman holds regular administrative meetings with Liander. Voorschoten is now clearly on Liander’s radar.
Report Malfunctions
Problems with street lighting are a nuisance, and we want to resolve them as quickly as possible. We monitor this ourselves, but we also need your help. Please report any issues at www.voorschoten.nl/kapotte-straatverlichting.