Met-Ed project will help prevent or
minimize outages for more than 24,000 customers
READING,
Pa., July 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy
Pennsylvania Electric Company (FE
PA), a FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiary doing
business in eastern Pennsylvania
as Met-Ed, is installing smart, automated equipment on neighborhood
power lines serving 24,160 York
and Adams County customers to help
prevent lengthy service interruptions, particularly during severe
weather.
John Hawkins, FirstEnergy's
President, Pennsylvania:
"These upgrades to our energy delivery system will help prevent or
minimize the impact of power outages for our Met-Ed customers in
numerous communities across York
and Adams counties. This important
work is part of our Long-Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan
(LTIIP) II, a $153 million initiative
to accelerate investments in our Met-Ed system over five years to
help ensure continued reliable electric service for our
customers."
The work includes installing 53 automated switching devices
enabled with supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)
technology at key spots on overhead power lines. SCADA-controlled
devices convey real-time information about voltage and electric
conditions to distribution system operators. The remote-control
devices:
- Work like a circuit breaker in a home that shuts off power when
trouble occurs.
- Are safer and more efficient because they can allow system
operators to remotely isolate damage, limiting the total number of
affected customers while restoring service to other customers
without sending a truck and crew to investigate.
- Can pinpoint the location of the electrical fault and help
utility personnel better understand the cause of the outage to help
speed restoration.
Communities that will benefit from the new automated switching
devices include:
- Adams County (4,760 customers)
– Berwick Township, Hamilton Township and Menallen Township
- York County (19,400 customers)
– Codorus Township, Dover, Heidelberg
Township, Manchester
Township, Manheim Township,
North Codorus Township,
Paradise Township, Penn Township,
Shrewsbury Township, Springfield Township, West Manchester
Township, York Township and
York City
Watch a video that explains how smart
grid technology works.
Some of the new devices are already in service, and the
remainder of the equipment is expected to be installed and
operational later this year.
This work is part of Energize365, a multi-year grid
evolution program that includes LTIIP II and is focused on
transmission and distribution investments that will deliver the
power FirstEnergy's customers depend on today while also meeting
the challenges of tomorrow. With planned investments of
$26 billion between 2024 and 2028,
the program will create a smarter, more secure grid that will meet
and exceed reliability targets and accommodate electric vehicles,
the electrification of homes and businesses and clean energy
sources.
Met-Ed serves approximately 592,000 customers within 3,300
square miles of eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania. Follow Met-Ed on X, formerly
known as Twitter, @Met Ed and on Facebook at
facebook.com/MetEdElectric.
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. Visit FirstEnergy online at firstenergycorp.com and
follow FirstEnergy on X @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of automated switching devices
are available for download on Flickr.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.