Attempts to produce electrical power in the Lehighton area go back to the 1860s, when a turbine-type water wheel was installed at the Mauch Chunk Dam on the Lehigh River as part of the Lehigh Canal System.

Below is a history of the borough's light and power department in more modern times.• In November 1989, borough council, and then borough Manager Edward Deichmeister, began working with the AEC Design and Technical Associates to bring the electrical system up to a 14k distributed capacity. The work was done by an outside contractor, and cost around $3 million. A bond issue was floated to pay for the project.• In July of 1994, the Power & Light Company replaced every pole and light fixture on First Street, replacing the units that had been installed in 1952. Robert White, then superintendent of the Power & Light Company, indicated the new lights were 150 watt units, which were more luminous.• In 2003, PP & L discontinued the sale of wholesale electricity to the borough. The borough joined 14 other municipalities to purchase electrical power from Constellation Power Source Inc. of Baltimore. It cost the borough about 16.8 percent more to purchase power from the new company.• On Jan. 21, 2004, a new substation located along Fairyland Road in Franklin Township, which was capable of reducing 69,000 volts of electricity down to 12,000 volts for in-town use, replaced the old 1943 substation along Bridge Street in the borough. The transformers at the old station could only accept 12,470 volts of electrical power. In 2004, the borough had 2,500 residential electric customers and 500 commercial customers.• After the engineering firm, Quad 3 Group, determined it would take the borough 36 years to break even on a $9 million hydroelectric plant at Beltzville Lake Dam, Lehighton Borough Council dropped the proposal. This idea was first suggested and studied in the 1970s, and again in 1990, but was rejected as not being feasible on both occasions.• On Aug. 24, 2004, the former power and light substation located on West Bridge Street was suggested as a location for a new home for the Lehighton Police Department. Then borough Manager John Hanosek was instructed to have an environmental study done on the site.• In June 2014, borough council awarded a bid to C & E Ankiewicz, of Mountain Top, Luzerne County, in the amount of $487,082, to construct an addition to its Light & Power building.• In August 2014, council approved a change order for the Light & Power building, which was a credit of $9,513. With the credit, the cost of the building was $477,569.