Electric Service Upgrades Part of $368 Million Investment

West Penn Power is undertaking significant electric service upgrades as part of a $368 million investment to enhance grid reliability in Westmoreland County.

 

Crews are upgrading two local power lines—one on 7th Street Road between Lower Burrell and New Kensington, and another near Drey Street in Arnold—by installing over a mile of stronger, larger-diameter wire. This enhancement will enable the lines to handle increased electricity demand and better withstand severe weather conditions.

 

Additional improvements include:

 

New Equipment: Replacing more than 50 wooden utility poles, 97 crossarms, 10 transformers, 22 fuses, and 38 lightning-protection devices to fortify the system.

 

Tree Trimming: Clearing vegetation along the lines to minimize the risk of tree-related outages.

 

Remote Switching: Installing eight reclosing switches that automatically restore service within seconds for certain types of outages and assist crews in identifying issues more efficiently.

 

New Tie Line: Connecting two local power lines to facilitate the transfer of customers from one line to another during maintenance or repairs.

 

John Hawkins, FirstEnergy President for Pennsylvania, emphasized the importance of these upgrades, stating, "Our investments in innovative technology and stronger equipment help us deliver safe, dependable service for our customers and support growth in our communities."

 

The project commenced in August and is expected to conclude this month. These enhancements are part of FirstEnergy Pennsylvania's Long Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan (LTIIP) III, which accelerates critical investments in electric system reliability. The LTIIP III investment for the West Penn district's service area totals $368 million.

 

West Penn Power serves approximately 725,000 customers in 24 counties within central and southwestern Pennsylvania.

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