FirstEnergy expanding Energizing the Future Initiative into the Met-Ed and Penelec service areas

FirstEnergy Corp. announced last week that it would expand its Energizing the Future Initiative, which aims to modernize the power grid, into the Met-Ed and Penelec service areas in Pennsylvania.

Since launching in 2014, the initiative has included 600 to 700 transmission projects each year involving upgrading or replacing aging infrastructure, adding operational flexibility and building a smarter, more secure transmission system.

This work has resulted in a 37 percent reduction in equipment-related outages in its American Transmission Systems, Inc. (ATSI) zone, FirstEnergy said.

“Energizing the Future is an essential part of our efforts to ensure customers benefit from a smarter, stronger and more secure power grid in the years ahead,” Carl Bridenbaugh, FirstEnergy vice president of transmission, said. “A robust transmission system – along with a modern, resilient distribution grid – is necessary to keep power flowing to customers around the clock and to mitigate the risk of a larger, extended outage.”

Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission, LLC (MAIT), a FirstEnergy transmission affiliate, will build and own the facilities in the Met-Ed and Penelec service areas. FirstEnergy anticipates investing more than $1 billion annually in transmission upgrades from 2018 to 2021.

The program currently serves Penn Power customers in western Pennsylvania as well as customers of the company’s Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating and Toledo Edison utilities in Ohio.