Potomac Edison completes circuit upgrade in Grant County, W.V.

Potomac Edison recently finished its upgrade to the electrical system in Grant County, W.Va., which will enhance service reliability for customers.

The $1.4 million project involved splitting a 286-mile circuit of power lines that deliver electricity from a substation to customers in the Maysville area into two smaller circuits. That particular circuit had previously been the longest by mileage within all of FirstEnergy, the company that owns Potomac Edison.

The 286-mile circuit was split into one that is 175-miles long, serving approximately 1,240 customers in Maysville, Scherr and Greenland, and another that is 112-miles long, serving roughly 900 customers in Arthur and Lahmansville.

With two smaller circuits, Potomac Edison will be able to manage demand more efficiently and limit the number of customers impacted by power outages.

In addition, the upgrade included installing new electrical equipment called automated reclosers that will automatically switch customers to an adjacent power source in the event of certain outages. This will further enhance reliability and minimize the frequency and duration of service interruptions that customers experience, Potomac Edison said.

“The strategic investment in our system will generate meaningful benefits for customers in Grant County by reducing the impact of outages caused by severe weather events and enhancing our service restoration capabilities in the area,” James Sears, Jr., vice president of Potomac Edison, said.

Potomac Edison serves about 275,000 customers in Maryland and about 151,000 customers in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, including all or parts of Berkeley, Grant, Hardy, Hampshire, Jefferson, Mineral and Morgan counties.