Project to enhance reliability for more
than 3,000 customers in four West
Virginia counties
FAIRMONT, W.Va., Oct. 11,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE)
subsidiary Mon Power has been awarded $5
million in federal funding by the U.S. Department of
Energy's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) for a project
that will enhance electric service reliability for customers in
parts of rural West Virginia. The
funding is part of the Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas
(ERA) program established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The funding will be applied to help rebuild more than 23 miles
of power lines in Pocahontas,
Braxton and Clay counties and connect a two-mile alternate
power line with a substation in Petersburg, Grant
County, resulting in enhanced reliability for more than
3,000 customers. The work will enable Mon Power and its sister
company Potomac Edison, which also serves West Virginia, to restore service to customers
faster by connecting them to adjacent lines that serve as a backup
power feed while repairs are made during an outage.
Jim Myers, Vice President of
FirstEnergy's West Virginia Operations: "We're honored to
receive this funding, and we look forward to applying it toward
system improvements that will make a real difference for thousands
of our customers in rural West
Virginia, reducing the number and duration of outages they
experience."
In May, Mon Power was selected by the U.S. Department of
Energy to begin award negotiations. Submitted in 2023, Mon
Power's proposal was selected as one of 19 community-led projects
across 12 states and 13 tribal nations and communities to receive
more than $78 million to develop and
deploy sustainable clean energy solutions or expand access to
reliable and affordable energy in rural and remote communities
across the country.
Mon Power expects to start construction on the project in 2025.
Company representatives have engaged with city, county, state and
nonprofit agencies about the proposal, providing updates and
incorporating community feedback into Mon Power's plans. Mon Power
also plans to partner with community-based organizations in the
affected counties to address workforce disparity gaps for
historically under-resourced communities.
Mon Power serves about 395,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties. Follow Mon Power
at mon-power.com, on X @MonPowerWV, and on Facebook
at facebook.com/MonPowerWV.
Potomac Edison serves about 285,000 customers in seven counties
in Maryland and 155,000 customers
in the Eastern Panhandle of West
Virginia. Follow Potomac Edison at potomacedison.com,
on X @PotomacEdison, and on Facebook
at facebook.com/PotomacEdison.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and
operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form
one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems,
serving more than six million 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 firstenergycorp.com and on
X @FirstEnergyCorp.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.