Penn Power work will help prevent or
minimize outages for more than 15,000 customers
NEW
CASTLE, Pa., Oct. 9, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiary Penn Power
has completed an expansion of its smart grid in Mercer County to reinforce the local power
system and help prevent lengthy service disruptions, especially
during severe weather. Work includes installation of new, automated
equipment and technology in distribution substations and along
neighborhood power lines serving more than 15,000 customers in
Sharon, Sharpsville, Hermitage, Transfer, Greenville, West
Middlesex and nearby areas.
View and download photos of Penn Power
crews completing the work on Flickr.
The work is part of Penn Power's second phase Long Term
Infrastructure Improvement Plan (LTIIP II), approved by the
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to help enhance electric
service for customers. The company has experienced a 74% decrease
in customer minutes of interruption related to outages since the
installation of smart grid technology along neighborhood power
lines under LTIIP.
Scott Wyman, president of
FirstEnergy's Pennsylvania
operations: "Penn Power has made significant investments
in smart grid technologies in recent years, helping enhance our
reliability performance and piloting new devices that our sister
utilities have since begun to implement successfully within their
own service areas. The completion of this work ahead of winter is a
win-win because it strengthens our electric system and keeps the
lights on for customers when they depend on it the most to stay
warm and comfortable."
Hundreds of homes and businesses in the area will benefit from
the installation of more than a dozen new automated reclosing
devices in the substations and along neighborhood power lines that
will help limit the frequency, duration and scope of service
interruptions. A video of utility personnel explaining and
installing automated devices can be found
on YouTube.
These electrical devices:
- Work like a circuit breaker in a home that shuts off power when
trouble occurs, with the added benefit of automatically
reenergizing a substation or power line within seconds for certain
types of outages to keep power safely flowing to customers.
- Are safer and more efficient because they often allow utility
personnel to automatically restore service to customers instead of
sending a crew to investigate.
- Isolate the outage to that area and limit the total number of
affected customers if the device senses a more serious issue, like
a fallen tree on electrical equipment.
- Quickly pinpoint the location of the fault and help utility
personnel better understand the cause of the outage to help speed
restoration.
Automated voltage regulators were also installed to help ensure
safe, constant voltage levels along power lines on extremely cold
or hot days that create high demand for electricity. In addition to
preventing voltage issues for customers, the devices could
potentially help provide energy savings by evenly distributing
electricity to allow all customers served by a single power line to
receive the same flow of safe, reliable power.
Lastly, Penn Power workers installed nearly 100 new poles
designed to withstand severe winter elements like high winds, ice
and heavy, wet snow.
This work builds upon system upgrades that were completed in
recent years across Penn Power's service area in Mercer County, including the installation of
more than 200 automated reclosing devices in rural, tree-filled
communities, and the addition of interior fencing in four
substations to help deter climbing animals and protect against
electrical equipment interference that can cause power outages.
Penn Power serves more than 160,000 customers in all or parts of
Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Lawrence and Mercer counties in western Pennsylvania. Follow Penn Power on
Twitter @Penn_Power, on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/PennPower, and online
at www.pennpower.com.
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.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/western-pennsylvania-electric-grid-stronger-and-more-resilient-following-smart-enhancements-301951230.html
SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.