WILLIAMSPORT, Md., July 10,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE)
subsidiary Potomac Edison is using a helicopter equipped with an
aerial saw to trim trees and ensure proper clearance around
high-voltage power lines and electrical equipment along nearly 45
transmission corridors in Maryland, West
Virginia and Virginia. The
work will continue through the summer and is expected to be
completed this fall.
The transmission corridors are located in Carroll, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties in Maryland; Berkeley, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral and Morgan counties in West Virginia; and Frederick, Page and Warren counties in Virginia.
Maintaining proper clearances around transmission lines and
electrical equipment can help prevent or minimize the impact of
tree-related power outages, especially those associated with severe
weather such as spring and summer thunderstorms.
"Taking this proactive step to reinforce our high-voltage lines
against tree-related damage is an important part of our vegetation
management program and an effective way to reduce or minimize
service interruptions for our customers," said Linda Moss, president of FirstEnergy's
Maryland operations. "This work
complements the various investments we make in preserving and
enhancing our electric grid each year."
In 2022, the amount of time Potomac Edison customers experienced
service interruptions due to trees dropped by 11%, excluding major
storms, compared to the previous year. Clearing incompatible
vegetation under power lines also gives company personnel easier
access to inspect and maintain lines and make repairs quicker if an
outage occurs.
Suspended on a boom beneath the helicopter and equipped with
multiple 24-inch rotary blades, the aerial saw is typically
deployed along transmission lines in areas that are environmentally
sensitive or inaccessible to bucket trucks and other vehicles. This
fast, safe and efficient method of trimming typically covers more
area in a day than a ground crew might complete in a week. The saw
also eliminates the risk of injury to workers using bucket trucks
or climbing trees to cut limbs near high-voltage equipment.
The saw cleanly cuts tree limbs 8 to 10 inches in diameter,
which fall straight to the ground propelled by air blasts from the
helicopter rotors. Ground crews move limbs that have fallen onto
roads, yards, agricultural fields or in streams. The ground crew
will also flag and stop motorists along roads if the aerial saw is
working nearby.
The helicopter flies above and alongside transmission lines and
may circle around to perform additional trimming. The pilot
communicates with local airport personnel whenever the helicopter
is operating within their air space.
The helicopter trimming trees along the transmission lines is a
white Hughes MD500 with blue and yellow stripes prominently marked
with a registration number of N1102D in blue paint. The helicopter
and saw are owned and operated by Aerial Solutions and will work
only as weather conditions permit.
In addition to trimming trees, helicopter crews have inspected
nearly 1,500 miles of transmission lines (equal to about half the
width of the United States)
located in Potomac Edison's service territory. The inspections are
designed to look for damaged wire, broken crossarms, failed
insulators and other hardware problems not visible from the ground.
Potential reliability issues identified during the inspection will
be prioritized and addressed as quickly as possible. Vegetation
management aerial patrols are also in progress to inspect
vegetation on the transmission corridor.
Potomac Edison serves about 285,000 customers in all or parts of
Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Montgomery and Washington counties in Maryland and about 151,000 customers in the
Eastern Panhandle of West
Virginia. Follow Potomac Edison
at www.potomacedison.com, on Twitter @PotomacEdison, and
on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PotomacEdison.
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: Action photos of the aerial saw are
available for download on Flickr. A video explaining
FirstEnergy's vegetation management techniques can also be found
on YouTube.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.