CLEVELAND, Nov. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Illuminating Company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp (NYSE: FE),
is modernizing its electric system in eastern Cuyahoga County to help prevent or minimize
the length of power outages. The work includes installation of new,
automated equipment and technology in substations and along power
lines serving more than 25,000 customers in parts of Bedford, Bedford
Heights, Warrensville
Heights, Garfield Heights,
Walton Hills, Valley View and nearby areas.
"While we cannot eliminate the possibility of outages occurring
due to reasons out of our control, like severe weather, we can take
steps to minimize the impact of service interruptions when they do
occur, often limiting them to just a brief or momentary outage,"
said Ed Shuttleworth, president of
FirstEnergy's Ohio operations.
"This work builds upon system upgrades that were completed in the
area earlier this year that have helped reduce the frequency and
length of power outages for many customers in Solon, Chagrin
Falls and Bedford
Heights."
Utility personnel are upgrading electrical equipment in two
Cuyahoga 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 65 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 in lieu of 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 to
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 Cuyahoga
County and identified areas that would benefit from new
technology.
Additional power lines that tie together existing circuits are
also being constructed to isolate outages to smaller areas and
provide more flexibility in restoring service following outages
caused by events such as storms and vehicle accidents. When
completed, the work will help reduce the overall number of
customers impacted during an outage by switching them to a backup
line for faster service restoration.
Lastly, more than 80 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.
The work underway in eastern Cuyahoga
County began this year and is expected to be completed in
the first half of 2022. Additional work is planned across the
region as part of The Illuminating Company's three-year portfolio
of grid modernization work that began last year.
Beyond the infrastructure upgrades underway in the greater
Bedford area, the company has
completed tree-trimming work and equipment inspections this year
along nearly 100 miles of power lines to reinforce existing
infrastructure and minimize the impact of damage caused by severe
weather.
The Illuminating Company serves more than 750,000 customers
across Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake
and Lorain counties. Follow The
Illuminating Company on Twitter @IlluminatingCo and on
Facebook at www.facebook.com/IlluminatingCo.
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.
Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter: @FirstEnergyCorp.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.