Upgrades will benefit more than 26,000
customers in FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company's West Penn
Rate District
GREENSBURG, Pa., Feb. 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Pennsylvania
Electric Company (FE PA), a
subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), doing business as West
Penn Rate District (West Penn), is installing automated reclosing
devices and electronic controllers in distribution substations
serving more than 26,000 customers in parts of Clarion, Washington and Westmoreland counties. The work is designed to
help prevent lengthy service interruptions, particularly during
severe weather.
Scott Wyman, President of
FirstEnergy's Pennsylvania Operations: "Substation upgrades
play a major role in preventing power outages because they supply
the electricity that flows across our local electric system and
powers homes and businesses throughout West Penn's service area.
This important work is part of FE
PA's Long Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan II, a
$147 million initiative that will
accelerate investments in our system over five years to help ensure
continued reliable electric service for our customers."
Substation electricians are upgrading electrical equipment in
three substations in Westmoreland
County, one substation in Clarion
County and one substation in Washington County. Thousands of homes and
businesses will benefit from the installation of new, smart
automated reclosing devices and electronic controllers that will
help limit the frequency, duration and extent of service
interruptions. Some of the new equipment is already in service, and
the remainder of equipment is expected to be installed and
operational by mid-year.
Automated recloser 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.
Electronic controllers allow distribution system operators to
monitor and remotely control substation reclosers that do not have
the capability to operate automatically.
Watch a video that explains how smart
grid technology works, including reclosers.
Communities that will benefit from the upgraded equipment
include:
- Clarion County: Clarion, Strattanville, Williamsburg
- Washington County:
California, Centerville
- Westmoreland County:
Adamsburg, Alverton, Bridgeport, Darlington, Herminie, Laughlintown, Ligonier Township, Mt. Pleasant, Sewickley Township
West Penn encompasses approximately 737,000 customers in 24
counties within central and southwestern Pennsylvania. Follow West Penn on X, formerly
known as Twitter, @W_Penn_Power and on Facebook at
facebook.com/WestPennPower.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and
operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form
one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems,
serving more than six million 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. Visit
FirstEnergy online at firstenergycorp.com and follow
FirstEnergy on X, formerly known as Twitter, @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of the newly
installed automated substation equipment are available for download
on Flikr.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.