Upgrades will benefit more than 8,200
customers in the Salem
area
SALEM,
Ohio, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy
Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiary Ohio Edison recently completed grid
modernization work in Salem,
Columbiana County, that will help
prevent or minimize the impact of power outages, particularly
during the summer and winter storm seasons. The work includes the
installation of new, automated equipment and technology in a
substation and along power lines to help prevent service
disruptions and restore power faster for more than 8,200 customers
in parts of Salem and nearby
townships.
"While events out of our control, like severe weather or vehicle
accidents, still have the potential to cause outages, the work
we've completed in Salem will help
limit them to just a brief or momentary disruption," said
Ed Shuttleworth, president of
FirstEnergy's Ohio operations.
"This work has proven to be successful in other parts of the
Mahoning Valley and thousands of customers have experienced fewer
or shorter outages over recent years."
Utility personnel upgraded electrical equipment in a substation
near Salem as well as modernized
the power lines that deliver electric service to customers from
that facility. Hundreds of homes and businesses in the area will
benefit from the installation of five new automated reclosing
devices in the substation 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 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.
Locations for these automated devices were determined based on a
review of historical outage patterns across the Mahoning Valley to
identify the areas that could benefit most from new technology.
Additional power lines that tie together existing circuits were
also constructed to provide more flexibility in restoring service
following outages. The new power lines 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, voltage regulation equipment was installed at 12
different locations in and around Salem 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 work builds upon system upgrades that were completed in
Salem last year as part of Ohio
Edison's initial three-year portfolio of grid modernization work.
As a result of the work, thousands of customers in the area have
seen their average restoration times improve by nearly half an hour
in more complex outage scenarios, such as equipment damage from
severe weather or a vehicle accident. Similar work is underway in
Youngstown, Austintown and Girard and is expected to be completed by the
end of this year.
Beyond the infrastructure upgrades underway in the Salem area, the company plans to complete
tree-trimming work and equipment inspections this year along more
than 500 miles of local power lines to reinforce existing
infrastructure and minimize the impact of damage caused by
storms.
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. Video
footage/B-Roll of Ohio Edison crews completing grid modernization
work can be viewed and downloaded here.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.