Potomac Edison Planning to Build New Substation at Frederick Data Campus

New transmission project will support first phase of Quantum Frederick

WILLIAMSPORT, Md., Oct. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Potomac Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), has begun planning a new high-voltage transmission substation that will provide power for the first phase of Quantum Frederick, Quantum Loophole's 2,100-acre data center campus under development in Frederick, Maryland.           

The 230-kilovolt substation will be located near the center of the Quantum Frederick campus and is expected to support the 240 megawatts of power anticipated for its first phase. The substation yard design will accommodate up to 1,000 megawatts in future phases.

"Potomac Edison is pleased to be a part of this transformational development project that will generate significant economic benefits for the Frederick community and beyond," said Linda Moss, president of FirstEnergy's Maryland operations. "We have a long history of promoting economic development and helping to attract new jobs to our service area, and we look forward to energizing multiple phases of the Quantum Frederick campus over time."

In support of the project, Potomac Edison plans to reenergize an existing 230-kilovolt transmission line that previously served the property. The company will also install two transformers to convert the high-voltage power from the substation to a lower voltage that can be distributed to Quantum Frederick buildings.

The substation is subject to review by regional transmission organization PJM and its stakeholders, and various components of Potomac Edison's planned work are subject to review and approval by Frederick County and the Maryland Public Service Commission.

In late June, Quantum Loophole broke ground on critical infrastructure supporting the Quantum Frederick development, which is located at the former Alcoa Eastalco industrial property on Manor Woods Road. The master-planned campus will be connected to the Ashburn, Virginia, data center community by a massive fiber network called QLoop, a 40-mile hyperscale fiber ring capable of supporting more than 200,000 strands of fiber.

FirstEnergy was recently named by Site Selection magazine as one of the nation's leading utilities in promoting economic development for the fourth year in a row, helping to attract nearly 22,000 new jobs and $5.4 billion in third-party corporate facility investment in its six-state service area in 2021.

Potomac Edison serves about 275,000 customers in all or parts of Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Montgomery, and Washington counties. The company also serves about 151,000 customers in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Follow Potomac Edison at www.potomacedison.com, on Twitter @PotomacEdison, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PotomacEdison.

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.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.