Met-Ed Completes Upgrade to Electric System in Monroe County

Project designed to enhance service reliability for nearly 2,300 customers

READING, Pa., July 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Met-Ed, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), recently completed a project to upgrade its distribution system in southern Monroe County to help prevent or minimize the length of service disruptions, particularly during severe summer storms. The work included rebuilding existing power lines to provide a second source of electricity to a substation near Snydersville and installing automated equipment on the local network to help prevent service disruptions and restore power faster for nearly 2,300 customers.

The upgrades are part of Met-Ed's Long Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan, a $153 million initiative to accelerate capital investments to the company's electric distribution system over five years to help ensure continued electric service reliability for customers.

"We've reconstructed three power lines to add a second source of electricity for the substation, providing redundancy that allows us to keep the lights on for many of our customers in Snydersville and Hamilton and Stroud Townships when our crews must make repairs or perform maintenance," said Scott Wyman, president of FirstEnergy's Pennsylvania Operations. "This substation had been fed by a single power line that traverses dense forest, steep hillsides and swamps, increasing the potential for lengthy tree-related outages in hard-to-access areas."

Met-Ed created the new 34.5 kilovolt (kV) source line that runs four miles along South Easton Belmont Pike and Middle Easton Belmont Pike by:

• Rebuilding a single-wire, 34.5-kV power line as a three-wire line with more electrical capacity
• Converting part of a lower voltage electric line to a 34.5-kV line with taller poles, new wire, transformers and fuses
• Installing new 55-foot poles on a lower voltage line to accommodate both the existing line and a new 34.5-kV line positioned overhead on the same poles

This new 34.5-kV power line parallels the roadway, providing easy access for crews to use bucket trucks to repair and maintain equipment.

Two devices enabled with supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) technology were installed in the substation, with two others placed on key spots along the line. SCADA conveys real-time information about voltage and electric current conditions to distribution system operators. Based on conditions, operators can control the devices remotely to quickly isolate damage and transfer customer load from one substation source to the other, helping to keep the lights on for customers when problems occur.

The devices have smart capability that will allow them to sense conditions on the system and operate automatically in several years when Met-Ed installs more automated equipment on the local network.

Met-Ed serves approximately 580,000 customers within 3,300 square miles of eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania. Follow Met-Ed on Twitter @Met Ed and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MetEdElectric.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving 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 www.firstenergycorp.com and on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

Editor's Note: A photo of line workers replacing a utility pole and cross arms is available on Flickr.

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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.