The conversion of streetlights in Kennebunk to LED in the district served by Kennebunk Light and Power will be completed by the company, not the town, select board members were told Jan. 24. Dan King photo

KENNEBUNK – The long-sought streetlight conversion to LED lights is in the hands of Kennebunk Light and Power District, which owns both the lights and the poles.

That was the word from Kennebunk Select Board member Lisa Pratt, the liaison with the town’s Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Committee, who outlined the position to the rest of the board on Tuesday, Jan 24.

“After much negotiation and talks with KLPD, they will be installing the light of their choice,” she said. “They will start immediately and hope to have the whole town covered by the summertime.”

Kennebunk Light and Power began replacing their streetlights with LED ones some time ago, as the old ones failed. About half of the district has already been converted, said Interim Town Manager Bryan Laverriere.

Pratt said she hopes the new lights will result in some energy savings for the town.

It will save taxpayer money. Voters in 2020 approved a bond that included $400,000 for streetlight conversion. The town had planned to replace the lights in the Kennebunk Light and Power District first, more than 800 in all, and at some later juncture, move on to those in the areas where where Central Maine Power is the utility.

In the months leading up to and during that 2020 vote, it was thought that the town owned the KLPD lights themselves. But as it turned out, there was a misunderstanding embedded in a 1994 streetlight policy, then-select board chair Blake Baldwin told the board in February 2021.

Board member Miriam Whitehouse, during the Jan. 24 discussion, said some residents felt the new LED lights were bright and noted they were not shielded.

Laverriere said questions about those issues should be directed to the power district.

The matter is expected to be discussed at the next select board meeting. An update on the remaining portion of the conversion, which is in the district served by Central Maine Power, is expected later.