Mon Power & Potomac Edison invest
$84.7 million to reinforce the power
grid during storms
FAIRMONT, W.Va., April 1,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE)
subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison are conducting tree
trimming and other vegetation management work in communities across
its West Virginia service area as
part of its ongoing efforts to help enhance electric service
reliability. This year's $84.7
million tree-trimming program will help keep power flowing
to customers by helping to prevent tree-related outages, such as
those that can occur during the spring and summer storm season.
On the ground, contractors have trimmed trees along nearly 1,100
miles of power lines across the West
Virginia service area since the beginning of the year. The
company is on track to complete an additional 6,800 miles of work
by the end of the year. Similar work is performed annually by
FirstEnergy transmission companies along high-voltage power lines
in the company's service territory.
Jim Myers, President of
FirstEnergy's West Virginia Operations: "Since trees are the
leading cause of power outages, tree trimming is crucial to our
reliability efforts and one of the most effective ways we can
reduce the impact of tree-related service interruptions for our
customers."
Crews continually inspect vegetation near power lines to ensure
trees are pruned to preserve their health while also maintaining
safe clearances. Trees that present a danger or are diseased may be
removed.
This year, work is being conducted in the following counties and
communities:
- Barbour: Belington, Phillipi
- Braxton: Flatwoods, Frametown
- Brooke: Weirton, Follansbee, Wellsburg
- Calhoun: Grantsville, Five Forks
- Doddridge: West Union
- Gilmer: Glenville, Troy
- Grant: Bayard, Gormania
- Greenbrier: Lewisburg, Renick, Alderson
- Hancock: Weirton, New
Cumberland, Newell
- Harrison: Clarksburg, Wallace
- Lewis: Weston
- Marion: Fairview, Rivesville, Fairmont (East Side), Baxter, Grant
Town, Pleasant Valley
- Mineral: Elk Garden
- Monongalia: Morgantown, Star
City, Booth, Everettville,
Little Indian Creek
- Monroe: Union, Alderson
- Nicholas: Summersville, Craigsville, Canvas, Enon,
Birch River
- Pocahontas: Marlinton, Dunmore, Huntersville, Durbin, Snowshoe
- Preston: Ruthbelle, Valley
Point, Lenox, Cuzzart
- Randolph: Elkins, Harman, Pickens
- Roane: Spencer, Clover
- Summers: Talcott
- Taylor: Flemington, Simpson
- Tyler: Ben's Run, Friendly, Paden
City, Middlebourne
- Wood: Vienna, Parkersburg, Boaz, Williamstown, Kanawha, Walker
- Webster: Cowen, Bergoo, Hacker
Valley, Backfork, Erbacon
- Wetzel: Paden City, Hundred, Jacksonburg, Smithfield
As part of its notification process, Mon Power and Potomac
Edison work with municipalities to inform them of tree-trimming
schedules. In addition, customers living in areas along company
rights-of-way also are notified before vegetation management work
is done.
Mon Power serves about 395,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties. Follow Mon Power
at mon-power.com, on X, formally known as
Twitter @MonPowerWV, and on Facebook
at facebook.com/MonPowerWV.
Potomac Edison serves about 285,000 customers in seven counties
in Maryland and 155,000 customers
in the Eastern Panhandle of West
Virginia. Follow Potomac Edison at potomacedison.com,
on X @PotomacEdison, and on Facebook
at facebook.com/PotomacEdison.
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. Follow
FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on
X @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of workers trimming trees near
FirstEnergy power lines are available for download on Flickr.
A video explaining and demonstrating tree-trimming work can be
found on FirstEnergy's YouTube channel.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.