FirstEnergy Expanding Substation in Leroy Center to Enhance Reliability for Customers in Northeast Ohio
Work Includes Installing Large Transformers and Extending Transmission Lines
AKRON, Ohio, March 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is expanding a transmission substation in Leroy Center to help reinforce the electric system, support load growth and enhance reliability in The Illuminating Company's northeast Ohio service area.
The project includes installing circuit breakers and two massive electrical transformers, each weighing about 368 tons and measuring about 28 feet tall by 25 feet wide and 44 feet in length. Transformers are used to convert power from 345-kilovolts (kV) to 138-kV as it moves along the transmission system. Specialized "smart" communications equipment also was installed at the substation to remotely monitor operations.
A nearby 345 kV transmission line connecting the Perry Nuclear Power Plant to a substation in Cleveland also will be connected to the substation in Leroy Center as part of this project to enhance resiliency and operational flexibility. The overall cost of the project is approximately $24 million, with about $14.8 million projected to be spent in 2016. The in-service date for the expanded substation is June 1, 2016.
"By connecting this substation to an existing transmission line, we are able to create another cost-effective option when it comes to delivering safe and reliable power to our customers," said John Skory, regional president, The Illuminating Company. "In addition, the high-tech substation devices we plan to install will give us the ability to operate the system remotely, automatically resetting the equipment instead of having to send a line crew to investigate the cause of the problem."
The project is funded and owned by American Transmission Systems, Incorporated, a FirstEnergy transmission company.
The Illuminating Company serves more than 750,000 customers across Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Lorain counties. Follow The Illuminating Company on Twitter @IlluminatingCo and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IlluminatingCo.
FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company dedicated to 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 more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, while its generation subsidiaries control nearly 17,000 megawatts of capacity from a diversified mix of scrubbed coal, non-emitting nuclear, natural gas, hydro and other renewables. Visit FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and follow on Twitter at @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of some of the work being done at The Illuminating Company substation in Leroy Center are available for download on Flickr.
SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.
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