NEW
CASTLE, Pa., March 20,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Pennsylvania
Electric Company (FE PA), a
FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiary doing business as Penn
Power in western Pennsylvania, is replacing underground cable
and related equipment to enhance electric service reliability for
customers in a Butler County
residential neighborhood.
John Hawkins, FirstEnergy President, Pennsylvania: "We are investing
in modern, durable underground cable with an expected lifespan of
40 years which should provide decades of reliable electric service
for our Penn Power customers. The new cable will be placed in
plastic PVC conduit to protect the line from water damage and
corrosive soil elements. This method also enhances our crews'
ability to quickly access and repair wires, which can shorten the
duration of service interruptions for our customers."
Company crews will replace more than five miles of underground
electric cable that has delivered electricity to homes in
Cranberry Township along
Leatherbark Road, Briarwood Lane and Valley View Drive for more
than 30 years. The new cable will be placed within the right of way
adjacent to the existing line. Crews will also assess the condition
of transformers and other equipment and replace those components as
necessary.
To minimize impact to driveways, sidewalks and landscaping,
contractors will bore horizontally beneath the ground wherever
possible to lay conduit for the new cable. Areas with unmarked
utilities or hard surfaces may require some trenching. The work is
expected to be completed this summer.
Photos of underground cable conduit and a boring machine
are available for download on
Flickr.
A few short, planned outages may be needed to transfer customers
from the old cable to the new system as the project moves forward.
Impacted customers and public officials would be notified in
advance of any scheduled outages.
The project is part of FirstEnergy Pennsylvania's Long Term
Infrastructure Improvement Plan (LTIIP III), which includes a
$133 million initiative to accelerate
capital investments in the Penn Power electric distribution system
over five years to help ensure continued electric service
reliability for customers.
LTIIP III is part of Energize365, a multi-year grid evolution
program focused on transmission and distribution investments that
will deliver the power FirstEnergy's customers depend on today
while also meeting the challenges of tomorrow. With planned
investments of $28 billion between
2025 and 2029, the program is creating a smarter, more secure grid
that will meet and exceed reliability targets and accommodate
electric vehicles, the electrification of homes and businesses, and
clean energy sources.
Penn Power serves approximately 173,000 customers in all or
parts of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Lawrence and Mercer counties in western Pennsylvania. Follow Penn Power on X
@Penn_Power, on Facebook at facebook.com/PennPower, and online at
pennpower.com.
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.
