WARREN, Ohio, Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohio Edison, a
FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) electric company, is completing
modernization work in Trumbull
County to help prevent power outages and restore service
faster. The work includes installation of new, automated equipment
and technology in substations and along power lines serving nearly
25,000 customers in parts of Warren, Niles, Girard, McDonald, Cortland and nearby areas.
"The work we're doing across the greater Warren area will provide new technology and
backup power lines for thousands of our customers and reduce many
power interruptions to just a brief or momentary outage," said
Ed Shuttleworth, president of
FirstEnergy's Ohio operations.
"These upgrades will be particularly beneficial during severe
weather events that often cause equipment damage that is out of our
control."
Utility personnel are upgrading electrical equipment in five
Trumbull County substations as
well as modernizing the power lines that deliver electric service
to customers from those facilities. Hundreds of homes and
businesses in the area will benefit from the installation of nearly
60 new automated reclosing devices in the substations and along
power lines to help limit the frequency, duration and scope of
service interruptions.
These electrical devices work like a circuit breaker in a home
that shuts off power when trouble occurs, with the added benefit of
automatically reenergizing a substation or power line within
seconds for certain types of outages to keep power safely flowing
to customers. This technology is safer and more efficient because
it often allows utility personnel to automatically restore service
to customers rather than sending a crew to investigate.
If the device senses a more serious issue, like a fallen tree on
electrical equipment, it will isolate the outage to that area and
limit the total number of affected customers. The device's smart
technology will quickly pinpoint the location of the fault and help
utility personnel better understand the cause of the outage to help
speed restoration.
To determine the best locations for these automated devices,
utility personnel, in conjunction with the Public Utilities
Commission of Ohio, reviewed
outage patterns across Trumbull
County and identified areas that would benefit from new
technology.
Additional power lines that tie together existing circuits are
also being constructed to provide more flexibility in restoring
service following outages caused by events such as storms and
vehicle accidents. The new power lines – designed to better
withstand tree debris and severe weather – will help reduce the
length and overall number of customers impacted during an outage by
switching them to a backup line for faster service restoration.
Lastly, more than 30 capacitor banks are being installed to help
ensure all customers served by a single power line receive the same
flow of safe, reliable power by evenly distributing electricity
down the line. These devices are expected to reduce energy usage
for customers served near the beginning of a power line because
they will benefit from lower power voltages being fed into their
homes or businesses.
This year's work builds upon system upgrades that were completed
last year in Trumbull County. As a
result of the work, thousands of customers in rural areas of
Kinsman, Farmdale, Fowler, Yankee Lake, Hartford, Burghill and West
Farmington have seen their average restoration times improve
by nearly an hour in more complex outage scenarios, such as
equipment damage from severe weather or a vehicle accident.
Additional work is planned across the region as part of the
company's three-year portfolio of grid modernization work that
began last year.
Ohio Edison serves more than
one million customers across 34 Ohio counties. Follow Ohio Edison on
Twitter @OhioEdison and on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/OhioEdison.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, 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. 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 Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of Ohio Edison crews
completing the grid modernization work are available for download
on Flickr.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.