FirstEnergy’s transmission equipment helicopter upgrades
FirstEnergy will upgrade transmission equipment in USA’s Northeast Ohio using helicopters.
Image for illustration purposes.
USA, Columbus: FirstEnergy will upgrade transmission equipment in USA’s Northeast Ohio using helicopters.
American Transmission Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., will use helicopters and ground crews to replace more than 550 insulators and attachments along a 56 km (35 mile) section of a 138 kV transmission line that runs through Mahoning, Columbiana and Jefferson counties in northeast Ohio. The work will help ensure the regional electric grid remains reliable and resilient.
Crews from Ohio Edison, another FirstEnergy subsidiary, will perform a 16 km (10 mile) portion of the insulator replacement work between Boardman Township and the Columbiana County line, while the rest of the replacements will be performed by a contractor that carries line workers to the top of the transmission towers via helicopter. The line workers will be harnessed and lowered down onto each structure to install the new insulators and attachments. This aerial method is more efficient than deploying ground crews to each structure, which would require the creation of access roads for large trucks and equipment.
ATSI began replacing the insulators in July and expects to complete the replacements in fall 2023. The transmission line has been deenergized until the work is complete but is not disrupting service to customers, who are being served by an alternate power feed.
“By installing new, upgraded equipment along this high-voltage line, we can help prevent potential power outages and ensure that our transmission system continues to serve customers safely and reliably in the future,” said Carl Bridenbaugh, FirstEnergy’s vice president of Transmission.
The project is part of Energizing the Future, an initiative to upgrade FirstEnergy’s transmission system with advanced equipment and technologies that will reinforce the power grid.
Source: T&D World
Related news:
https://transformers-magazine.com/tm-news/firstenergy-upgrades-transmission-line-in-eastern-ohio/
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