New Penn Power substation to be built in Lawrence County
USA, Pennsylvania, New Castle: Penn Power, a FirstEnergy Corp. electric company, has started construction on a new distribution substation in Lawrence County.
Image source: First Energy Corp
USA, Pennsylvania, New Castle: Penn Power, a FirstEnergy Corp. electric company, has started construction on a new distribution substation in Lawrence County.
The substation in this Pennsylvania’s county is to support the area’s growing demand for electricity and provide more flexibility in restoring power faster. The project includes installation of automated equipment and technology within the new substation and along power lines serving more than 30,000 customers.
“Every project we do is customized and designed to address the particular reliability needs of each community where work is being done,” said Ed Shuttleworth, regional president of Penn Power and Ohio Edison.
As part of the construction process, crews recently completed the foundation work at the new substation site in North Beaver Township and will begin erecting steel structures at the facility in mid-September. The project also includes construction of a short, high-voltage power line to connect the new substation with an existing 69 kV line located nearby. Such ties offer a backup power feed that will help keep the lights on for customers if wires or equipment on their regular line are damaged or need to be taken out of service. The new substation is expected to be completed and operational by the end of this year.
Once the new facility is in use, hundreds of homes and businesses in the area will benefit from the installation of new automated reclosing devices in the substation and along power lines that are fed from the facility that will help limit the frequency, duration and scope of service interruptions.
The 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.
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.
Source: First Energy Corp.