Project designed to enhance service
reliability for rural customers
READING,
Pa., April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Met-Ed, a
subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), is upgrading its
electric grid in southern York County,
Pennsylvania, to help prevent service disruptions,
particularly during severe weather. The work includes converting an
existing power line along New Park Road in Fawn Township to a higher voltage to enhance
the reliability of electric service for rural customers.
The upgrades are part of Met-Ed's Long Term Infrastructure
Improvement Plan, a $153 million
initiative to accelerate capital investments to the company's
electric grid over five years to help ensure continued electric
service reliability for customers.
"We are rebuilding a 2.5-mile section of an existing power line
to operate at a higher voltage," said Scott
Wyman, president of FirstEnergy's Pennsylvania Operations.
"This is an older line that has been repaired many times, and the
work includes stringing larger wire, replacing and adding numerous
wood utility poles and cross arms and installing new transformers.
The project should help enhance local grid performance,
particularly during hot humid summer weather when our customers in
the New Park and Gatchellville
areas crank up their air conditioners to stay cool."
Crews are expected later this spring to replace 38 poles. They
also plan to set an additional 27 new poles along the line to
shorten the distance of wire between poles to reduce sagging and
maintain necessary clearances. Crews will install more than 100
cross arms and 12 new transformers as they hang new wire.
A device enabled with supervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA) technology will be placed at a key spot on the line. SCADA
conveys real-time information about voltage and electric current
conditions to distribution system operators. Based on conditions,
operators can control the device remotely to quickly isolate damage
and transfer customer load to a different source, helping to keep
the lights on for customers when problems such as vehicles damaging
poles or tree-related outages occur.
The project will start at Met-Ed's distribution substation near
the intersection of Woolen Mill and New Park roads, progress
northeast along New Park Road and end near Stoney Lane just south
of Gatchellville. Step transformers will be placed on a platform
near Stoney Lane to reduce voltage, beyond which point the line
will continue at its original lower voltage.
Scheduled for completion by the end of 2023, the project will
result in much of the local electric network operating at 13,200
volts – enabling Met-Ed to better meet the area's current and
future electrical needs. Met-Ed will eliminate the
distribution substation near New Park Road when the project is
complete because it will no longer be needed to reduce voltage.
Met-Ed serves approximately 587,000 customers within 3,300
square miles of eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania. Follow Met-Ed on Twitter @Met Ed
and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MetEdElectric.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and
operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form
one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems,
serving customers in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West
Virginia, Maryland and
New York. The company's
transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of
transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at
www.firstenergycorp.com and on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: A photo of line workers replacing a
utility pole and cross arms is available on Flickr.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.