Company offers tips for customers to manage
rising temperatures and energy costs
AKRON,
Ohio, June 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With the hot
summer months likely to produce higher electric usage and
potentially severe weather, FirstEnergy Corp.'s (NYSE: FE)
Ohio subsidiaries – Ohio Edison,
The Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison – recently completed
inspections and conducted equipment maintenance expected to enhance
service reliability for customers. The work builds upon vast
tree-trimming work and equipment and technology upgrades
FirstEnergy has made to its electric grid in Ohio over recent years to help prevent power
outages and reduce many interruptions to just a brief or momentary
outage.
Torrence Hinton, FirstEnergy's
Ohio President: "Our commitment to continuous improvement
will help us continue to deliver the safe and reliable electricity
our customers rely on every day. Since 2020, FirstEnergy has
invested more than $500 million in
new automated equipment and technology across its Ohio service area to help keep power flowing
to our customers in all types of weather conditions."
Proactive equipment inspections include using thermovision
cameras to capture infrared images of electrical equipment, helping
detect potential problems within substations and on power lines
that cannot be observed during regular visual inspections. The
infrared technology shows heat on a color scale, with brighter
colors or "hot spots" indicating areas that could need repairs.
These images can identify equipment issues such as loose
connections, corrosion and load imbalances, and utility workers are
able to make repairs to prevent potential power outages in the
future.
Other utility work being done by FirstEnergy utility personnel
includes inspecting electrical equipment, like transformers,
located along neighborhood power lines and within substations to
ensure the infrastructure is ready to perform efficiently when
demand for electricity increases during the summer, typically due
to air conditioning use.
In addition, FirstEnergy's Ohio
electric distribution companies are collectively investing about
$52 million to trim trees along more
than 8,000 miles of power lines this year. This program will help
keep power flowing to customers by helping to prevent tree-related
outages, such as those that can occur during the summer storm
season. The companies' programs remain on track for completion in
the fall.
Helicopter patrols have also completed inspections of more than
7,200 miles of transmission lines owned by American Transmission
Systems, Inc. (ATSI), a FirstEnergy subsidiary, across the
company's Ohio footprint. The
inspections are designed to look for damaged wire, broken cross
arms and other hardware problems not visible from the ground. Any
potential reliability issues identified during the inspections are
addressed as quickly as possible.
With the summer storm season also comes higher-than-usual
temperatures and rising energy costs. Customers can take steps to
beat the heat while also managing their electricity bill this
summer. The following tips can help customers use electricity
wisely during this period of high demand:
- Set thermostats as high as comfort will allow.
- Use fans – moving air cools skin faster, resulting in greater
comfort on hot days.
- During sunny weather, close drapes or blinds on windows facing
the sun to prevent direct radiant heating from impacting interior
temperatures.
- Use a programmable or smart thermostat to keep temperatures
higher when no one is home and to reduce the temperature before
arrival back home.
- Seal any leaks with caulk or weather stripping to prevent hot
air from sneaking into your home.
- Check air conditioner and furnace fan filters. Clogged filters
waste energy and money by forcing HVAC systems to work harder than
necessary.
- Avoid using heat-producing appliances during the hottest hours
of the day. The less heat produced at home, the less work the air
conditioner must do.
- Payment arrangements and assistance programs are available for
customers who need help with their electric bills. For more
information, visit firstenergycorp.com/billassist
Ohio Edison serves more than
one million customers across 34 Ohio counties. Follow Ohio Edison on X,
formerly known as Twitter, @OhioEdison, on Facebook
at facebook.com/OhioEdison and online
at ohioedison.com.
The Illuminating Company serves 755,000 customers across
Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake
and Lorain counties. Connect with
The Illuminating Company at illuminatingcompany.com, on
X @IlluminatingCo and on Facebook
at facebook.com/IlluminatingCo.
Toledo Edison serves nearly
315,000 customers in northwest Ohio. Follow Toledo Edison on
X @ToledoEdison or on Facebook
at facebook.com/ToledoEdison.
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 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.
Follow FirstEnergy on X: @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of FirstEnergy utility
personnel installing new equipment and conducting inspections are
available for download on Flickr. A video of utility personnel
conducting a thermovision inspection and explaining the work can be
found on the company's YouTube channel.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.