READING, Pa., Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- To help
enhance the reliability of its system, Pennsylvania Electric
Company (Penelec) crews have replaced or repaired nearly 600 wooden
utility poles so far this year as part of the company's annual
inspection program.
Overall, Penelec, a FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) utility,
expects to inspect more than 41,100 of its 493,339 wooden poles in
2014 for signs of wear, insect infestation or damage from a car
accident.
A standard 40-foot wooden distribution pole typically is
expected to last more than 50 years. The most common utility
pole is made from a Southern Yellow Pine tree and costs about
$400.
"Wooden utility poles form the backbone of our distribution
network that delivers electricity to the homes and businesses
throughout Penelec's service area. We expect to replace or
repair about 850 poles by the end of the year as part of our
ongoing efforts to enhance service reliability for our customers,"
said Scott Wyman, regional
president, Penelec. "While certainly durable, these poles are
in the elements 365 days of the year and subject to damage from
severe weather, falling trees, and traffic accidents. Over
time, some poles need to be replaced to help maintain our system's
reliability and resiliency."
Typically, specialized contractors perform the pole inspections.
As part of the process, a visual inspection is completed,
along with inspecting the pole to determine if the interior is
sound. Poles also can be reinforced rather than
replaced. One of the most common reinforcement techniques is
to snug a C-shaped steel beam against the pole, jackhammer the beam
into the ground, and secure it to the pole with tight, metal
bands.
All wood poles throughout the 31-county Penelec service
territory are inspected on a 12-year cycle. Inspections began
in January and will continue through summer, with the remaining
pole replacements and repairs scheduled to be completed during the
fall.
Year-to-date, Penelec has inspected more than 36,500 wooden
poles in and around the following communities:
- Altoona – 4,863
- Clearfield – 246
- Philipsburg – 3,494
- Dubois – 3,455
- Indiana – 2,222
- Erie – 8,802
- Johnstown – 3,139
- Somerset – 1,700
- Lewistown – 3,250
- Shippensburg – 764
- Oil City – 1,988
- Meadville – 1,771
- Bradford – 870
Penelec serves approximately 600,000 customers in 31
Pennsylvania counties. Follow
Penelec on Twitter @Penelec. Visit FirstEnergy on the web at
www.firstenergycorp.com.
FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company dedicated to safety,
reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 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.
Editor's Note: Photos showing pole repairs are
available for download on Flickr.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes
forward-looking statements based on information currently available
to management. Such statements are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties. These statements include declarations regarding
management's intents, beliefs and current expectations. These
statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the terms
"anticipate," "potential," "expect," "will," "intend," "believe,"
"estimate" and similar words. Forward-looking statements involve
estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that may cause actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements, which may include the following: the
speed and nature of increased competition in the electric utility
industry, in general, and the retail sales market in particular;
the ability to experience growth in the Regulated Distribution and
Regulated Transmission segments and to successfully implement our
revised sales strategy in the Competitive Energy Services segment;
the accomplishment of our regulatory and operational goals in
connection with our transmission plan and planned distribution rate
cases and the effectiveness of our repositioning strategy; the
impact of the regulatory process on the pending matters before the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and in the various states in
which we do business including, but not limited to, matters related
to rates and pending rate cases and the Electric Security Plan IV;
the uncertainties of various cost recovery and cost allocation
issues resulting from American Transmission Systems, Incorporated's
realignment into PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.; economic or weather
conditions affecting future sales and margins such as the polar
vortex or other significant weather events, and all associated
regulatory events or actions; regulatory outcomes associated with
storm restoration, including but not limited to, Hurricane Sandy,
Hurricane Irene and the October snowstorm of 2011; changing energy,
capacity and commodity market prices including, but not limited to,
coal, natural gas and oil, and their availability and impact on
margins; the continued ability of our regulated utilities to
recover their costs; costs being higher than anticipated and the
success of our policies to control costs and to mitigate low
energy, capacity and market prices; other legislative and
regulatory changes, and revised environmental requirements,
including, but not limited to, possible greenhouse gas emission,
water discharge, and coal combustion residual regulations, the
potential impacts of Cross State Air Pollution Rule, and the
effects of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's
Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rules including our estimated
costs of compliance; the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of
the capital expenditures that may arise in connection with any
litigation, including New Source Review litigation or potential
regulatory initiatives or rulemakings (including that such
expenditures could result in our decision to deactivate or idle
certain generating units); the uncertainties associated with the
deactivation of certain older regulated and competitive fossil
units including the impact on vendor commitments, and the timing
thereof as they relate to, among other things, Reliability Must Run
arrangements and the reliability of the transmission grid; adverse
regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes with respect to our
nuclear operations (including, but not limited to the revocation or
non-renewal of necessary licenses, approvals or operating permits
by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or as a result of the incident
at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Plant); issues arising from the indications of cracking in
the shield building at Davis-Besse; the impact of future changes to
the operational status or availability of our generating units; the
risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration,
mediation and like proceedings, including, but not limited to, any
such proceedings related to vendor commitments; replacement power
costs being higher than anticipated or not fully hedged; the
ability to comply with applicable state and federal reliability
standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates;
changes in customers' demand for power, including but not limited
to, changes resulting from the implementation of state and federal
energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; the ability
to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic and
financial goals including, but not limited to, the ability to
reduce costs and to successfully complete our announced financial
plans designed to improve our credit metrics and strengthen our
balance sheet, including but not limited to, our announced dividend
reduction and our proposed capital raising initiatives; our ability
to improve electric commodity margins and the impact of, among
other factors, the increased cost of fuel and fuel transportation
on such margins; changing market conditions that could affect the
measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in
our Nuclear Decommissioning Trusts, pension trusts and other trust
funds, and cause us and our subsidiaries to make additional
contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger than currently
anticipated; the impact of changes to material accounting policies;
the ability to access the public securities and other capital and
credit markets in accordance with our announced financial plans,
the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and
credit markets affecting us and our subsidiaries; actions that may
be taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect us
and our subsidiaries' access to financing, increase the costs
thereof, and increase requirements to post additional collateral to
support outstanding commodity positions, letters of credit and
other financial guarantees; changes in national and regional
economic conditions affecting us, our subsidiaries and our major
industrial and commercial customers, and other counterparties
including fuel suppliers, with which we do business; the impact of
any changes in tax laws or regulations or adverse tax audit results
or rulings; issues concerning the stability of domestic and foreign
financial institutions and counterparties with which we do
business; the risks and other factors discussed from time to time
in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings,
and other similar factors. The foregoing review of factors should
not be construed as exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to
time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such
factors, nor assess the impact of any such factor on FirstEnergy's
business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of
factors, may cause results to differ materially from those
contained in any forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy expressly
disclaims any current intention to update, except as required by
law, any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.