Penelec, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, has begun construction on a new transmission line in Altoona, Pa.
The one mile, 46-kilovolt (kV) line will link Penelec’s Westfall Substation near 17th Avenue to MAIT’s 20th Street Substation near Boyer Candy. It will provide a second source of electricity for the 20th Street Substation and provide flexibility to quickly restore power to customers after service interruptions.
“This project will yield immediate benefits for about 3,000 of our residential and commercial customers in the downtown area, including the Altoona Area Senior/Junior High School Complex, UPMC Station Medical Center, Jaffa Mosque, and the Railroaders Museum,” Nick Austin, regional president of Penelec, said. “Rather than having to wait until repairs are completed when there is a problem, we will have the capability to quickly get the lights back on for our customers by temporarily switching to a different power source.”
The new transmission line will largely follow an existing distribution line corridor and be placed primarily on wood poles ranging from 70 to 90 feet tall. A drilling contractor has been working over the past month to excavate holes and pour foundations for the poles. The work is expected to be complete in mid-August. The project will cost about $4 million.
The construction work is being done by Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission (MAIT), a transmission subsidiary of FirstEnergy.
Penelec serves about 585,000 customers in northern and central Pennsylvania. FirstEnergy is one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, and New York. Through its Energizing the Future transmission investment program, FirstEnergy is upgrading or replacing existing transmission lines, constructing new lines, incorporating new, smart technology into the grid, and outfitting dozens of substations with new equipment and advanced security features.
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