PPL Electric Utilities recently completed the rebuilding of a 16-mi power line in York and Cumberland counties, a $44 million project that will help reduce the risk of power outages by doubling the capacity of the previous line.
The project, which took about a year to complete, replaced a 230-kV, single-circuit line supported by lattice-style towers with a double-circuit line of the same voltage supported by taller single-shaft steel poles. The original line was built in the 1960s.
The project started at PPL’s Brunner Island switchyard along the Susquehanna River in East Manchester Township, York County, and ran northwest to the company’s West Shore substation in Lower Allen Township, Cumberland County. Upgrades also were completed at the switchyard and substation to accommodate the new line.
“This work was done as part of the PJM Interconnection’s Regional Transmission Expansion Plan. It benefits both PPL Electric Utilities customers in Cumberland and York counties, and the high-voltage electric system in the mid-Atlantic region,” said Paul Santarelli, manager of Transmission Operations for the utility.
PJM operates a competitive wholesale electricity market and manages the high-voltage electricity grid to ensure reliability for more than 60 million people in 13 states and the District of Columbia.
The project is part of the utility’s expanded investments in the infrastructure that delivers power to customers in all or part of 29 counties in central and eastern Pennsylvania. The work includes transmission projects like Brunner Island–West Shore that help carry high-voltage power over long distances, and distribution projects that deliver lower-voltage electricity directly to homes and businesses.
