The gravel footpath, on High St, was recently narrowed and sealed with concrete.
However, a guy rope supporting one of two power poles which hold a large transformer has been left in place, and now sits near the centre of the footpath.
Balclutha St John team leader Graham Harvey said the guy rope had always been there, but now that the footpath had been narrowed from about 2m wide to about 1.4m, it had become a safety concern.
"I'm worried about someone walking into it after dark.
"It certainly presents a hazard, more so now than it did before, because the path has been narrowed.
"There is an obvious hazard and people need to be aware that it's there," he said.
Clutha District Council district assets manager Jules Witt said the work was done by contractors as part of the town's street upgrade.
In a few cases on other streets in Balclutha, power poles had been moved from the footpath and resited in more appropriate places.
"But in this case, it wasn't economically viable," he said.
"It's a compromise between spending thousands of dollars and making the best of the situation we have."
Mr Witt said although the path had been narrowed, extra concrete had been laid around the guy wire to allow people to walk around it.
He agreed the wire was something Balclutha residents would have to look out for, but did not believe it was unsafe.
"It's not a very populated route.
"I wouldn't think there will be a lot of people walking there in the evening, and there are streetlights there to light the way.
"We can certainly paint the wire orange so people can see it better at night, but it will look silly during the day," he said.
