wiredInUSA January 2018

FirstEnergy is planning to redesign and modernize the Ohio electric system, as well as prepare for smart technologies, with an investment of $450m. FirstEnergy has filed the three-year investment plan, to reduce the frequency and duration of power outages, with the public utilities commission of Ohio (PUCO). The proposed projects are expected to help restore power faster, boost the systemagainst adverse weather conditions, and enhance system performance. FirstEnergy utilities president Steve Strah said: “Portions of our system were originally designed to serve hundreds of customers on single, standalone lines, meaning a single outage could leave many customers without power until repairs are made. “Our plan would allow us to isolate damage to a confined area and allowother customers along the line to be quickly restored by rerouting power from nearby lines.” The proposed projects include circuit tie, whichaims tohelpprevent or shortenoutages by tying adjacent lines together and creating multiple paths for power to flow to customers, and reconductoring which involves installing larger wires to support greater power flows and enhance reliability. FirstEnergy’s projects also include reclosers that allow grid operators to isolate an outage to the immediate area where damage occurs, as well as data acquisition systems for remote monitoring of power grid conditions.

Three-year plan

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wiredInUSA - January 2018