OHIO – FirstEnergy Corp’s Ohio Edison has completed upgrades to its power system in Alliance, Stark County, to help prevent or minimize the length of service disruptions, particularly during severe weather.
The work includes installation of 13 new automated reclosing devices in the substation and along power lines to help limit the frequency, duration and scope of service interruptions.
To determine the best locations for these automated devices, utility personnel, in conjunction with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, reviewed outage patterns across Stark County and identified areas that would benefit from new technology.
Nearly 18 miles of additional power lines that tie together existing circuits were also constructed to provide more flexibility in restoring service following outages caused by events such as storms and vehicle accidents. The new power lines — designed to better withstand tree debris and severe weather — should help reduce the length and overall number of customers impacted during an outage by switching them to a backup line for faster service restoration.
Seven capacitor banks and four voltage regulators were also installed. They are expected to reduce energy usage for customers served near the beginning of a power line because they will benefit from lower power voltages being fed into their homes or businesses.
The work builds upon power system upgrades completed across northeast Ohio over the past two years. The upgrades have improved average restoration times in some areas by nearly an hour in more complex outage scenarios, such as equipment damage from severe weather or a vehicle accident.
Additional work is planned across the region as part of the company's three-year portfolio of grid modernization work that began in 2020.
Source: T&D World