Work Completed to Meet Future Energy Demands in Western Pennsylvania

FirstEnergy line rebuild to benefit 500 West Penn Power customers

GREENSBURG, Pa., Feb. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company (FE PA), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) doing business as West Penn Power in western Pennsylvania, has upgraded its electric system in eastern Westmoreland County to help prevent service disruptions, support voltage and accommodate growth. The work centered on rebuilding part of an existing power line with larger diameter wire capable of carrying more electricity, enabling customers to stay comfortable during frigid winter weather and summertime heat waves.

John Hawkins, FirstEnergy President, Pennsylvania: "We reconstructed part of a line parallelling Unity Street with new utility poles, wires, crossarms and other equipment to enhance electric service for more than 500 customers in Unity Township. This investment will help support voltage levels on our system to benefit existing customers and position the local grid to meet increased electrical load in a rural area poised for growth."

West Penn Power crews based in Latrobe recently completed work on a 2-mile section of the 12-kilovolt (kV) distribution line that runs along Unity Street-Unity Cemetery Road from Garfield Road to Auction Barn Road. The project includes:

• Installing larger diameter wire capable of transporting more electricity to meet the area's increasing electrical demand and support voltage levels for existing customers.
• Replacing 15 utility poles, 70 crossarms and other hardware with new equipment.
• Replacing 200 aging insulators and a number of fuses.

The increased capacity of the rebuilt line will also help keep lights on for customers in the Wimmerton housing plan when scheduled maintenance or other issues affect their normal lines. System operators will have the flexibility to temporarily provide power to those customers from the rebuilt line. 

Photos of newly installed poles and crews installing wire on Unity Street-Unity Cemetery Road near Latrobe are available on Flickr.

The project is part of FE PA's Long Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan (LTIIP), an initiative to accelerate capital investments in the electric distribution system serving West Penn Power and other service areas to help ensure continued electric service reliability for customers.

LTIIP is part of Energize365, FirstEnergy's grid evolution program focused on investing $26 billion between 2024 and 2028 across its six-state footprint to create a smarter, more secure grid that that delivers the power customers depend on today while also meeting the challenges of tomorrow.

West Penn Power serves approximately 725,000 customers in 24 counties within central and southwestern Pennsylvania. Follow West Penn Power on X @W_Penn_Power and on Facebook at facebook.com/WestPennPower.

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

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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.