Penn Power expands smart grid to improve resiliency

FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiary Penn Power has completed an expansion of its smart grid in Mercer County meant to reinforce the local power system and help prevent lengthy service disruptions, especially during severe weather.

Work includes installation of new, automated equipment and technology in distribution substations and along neighbourhood power lines serving more than 15,000 customers in Sharon, Sharpsville, Hermitage, Transfer, Greenville, West Middlesex, and nearby areas.

The work is part of Penn Power’s second phase Long Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan (LTIIP II), approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to help enhance electric service for customers. The company says it has experienced a 74% decrease in customer minutes of interruption related to outages since the installation of smart grid technology along neighbourhood power lines under LTIIP.

“Penn Power has made significant investments in smart grid technologies in recent years, helping enhance our reliability performance and piloting new devices that our sister utilities have since begun to implement successfully within their own service area,” said Scott Wyman, president of FirstEnergy’s Pennsylvania operations. “The completion of this work ahead of winter is a win-win because it strengthens our electric system and keeps the lights on for customers when they depend on it the most to stay warm and comfortable.”

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Hundreds of homes and businesses in the area will receive the installation of more than a dozen new automated reclosing devices in the substations and along neighbourhood power lines that are meant to help limit the frequency, duration, and scope of service interruptions.

These electrical devices are intended to:

• Work like a circuit breaker in a home that shuts off power when trouble occurs, while automatically reenergising a substation or power line within seconds for certain types of outages to keep power flowing to customers.
• Often allow utility personnel to automatically restore service to customers instead of sending a crew to investigate.
• Isolate the outage to that area and limit the total number of affected customers if the device senses a more serious issue, like a fallen tree on electrical equipment.
• Quickly pinpoint the location of the fault and help utility personnel better understand the cause of the outage to help speed restoration.

Automated voltage regulators were also installed to help ensure safe, constant voltage levels along power lines on extremely cold or hot days that create high demand for electricity. In addition to preventing voltage issues for customers, the devices could potentially help provide energy savings by evenly distributing electricity to allow all customers served by a single power line to receive the same flow of safe, reliable power.

Lastly, Penn Power workers installed nearly 100 new poles designed to withstand severe winter elements like high winds, ice and heavy, wet snow.

This work builds upon system upgrades that were completed in recent years across Penn Power’s service area in Mercer County, including the installation of more than 200 automated reclosing devices in rural, tree-filled communities, and the addition of interior fencing in four substations to help deter climbing animals and protect against electrical equipment interference that can cause power outages.

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Originally published on power-grid.com