FirstEnergy line rebuild to benefit 500
West Penn Power customers
GREENSBURG, Pa., Feb. 10,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Pennsylvania
Electric Company (FE PA), a
subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) doing business as West
Penn Power in western Pennsylvania, has upgraded its electric system
in eastern Westmoreland County to
help prevent service disruptions, support voltage and accommodate
growth. The work centered on rebuilding part of an existing power
line with larger diameter wire capable of carrying more
electricity, enabling customers to stay comfortable during frigid
winter weather and summertime heat waves.
John Hawkins, FirstEnergy
President, Pennsylvania: "We
reconstructed part of a line parallelling Unity Street with new
utility poles, wires, crossarms and other equipment to enhance
electric service for more than 500 customers in Unity Township. This investment will help
support voltage levels on our system to benefit existing customers
and position the local grid to meet increased electrical load in a
rural area poised for growth."
West Penn Power crews based in Latrobe recently completed work on a 2-mile
section of the 12-kilovolt (kV) distribution line that runs along
Unity Street-Unity Cemetery Road from Garfield Road to Auction Barn
Road. The project includes:
- Installing larger diameter wire capable of transporting more
electricity to meet the area's increasing electrical demand and
support voltage levels for existing customers.
- Replacing 15 utility poles, 70 crossarms and other hardware
with new equipment.
- Replacing 200 aging insulators and a number of fuses.
The increased capacity of the rebuilt line will also help keep
lights on for customers in the Wimmerton housing plan when
scheduled maintenance or other issues affect their normal lines.
System operators will have the flexibility to temporarily provide
power to those customers from the rebuilt line.
Photos of newly installed poles and crews installing wire
on Unity Street-Unity Cemetery Road near Latrobe are available on
Flickr.
The project is part of FE PA's
Long Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan (LTIIP), an initiative to
accelerate capital investments in the electric distribution system
serving West Penn Power and other service areas to help ensure
continued electric service reliability for customers.
LTIIP is part of Energize365, FirstEnergy's grid
evolution program focused on investing $26
billion between 2024 and 2028 across its six-state footprint
to create a smarter, more secure grid that that delivers the power
customers depend on today while also meeting the challenges of
tomorrow.
West Penn Power serves approximately 725,000 customers in 24
counties within central and southwestern Pennsylvania. Follow West Penn Power on X
@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. Follow
FirstEnergy online at firstenergycorp.com and on X
@FirstEnergyCorp.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/work-completed-to-meet-future-energy-demands-in-western-pennsylvania-302372625.html
SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.
