West Penn Power to Upgrade Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Power Grid for Reduced Outages and Faster Restoration
FirstEnergy’s West Penn Power is rebuilding a crucial section of its Westmoreland County power grid with stronger equipment and smart technology for a reliable and resilient electric service to residents and businesses.
Nearly 5,000 customers in New Kensington, Arnold and Lower Burrell are expected to experience reduced outages and faster restoration during outages, if any, once the project is completed.
Crews are upgrading two local power lines, one on 7th Street Road between Lower Burrell and New Kensington and the other near Drey Street in Arnold, by installing about a mile of new wire. The new lines will be able to handle more electricity and stand against bad weather.
Other work includes:
- New equipment: Replacing more than 50 wooden utility poles, 97 crossarms, 10 transformers, 22 fuses and 38 lightning-protection devices to harden the system.
- Tree trimming: Clearing vegetation along the lines to reduce the risk of tree-related outages.
- Remote Switching: Adding eight reclosing switches that shut off power during trouble and automatically restore service within seconds for certain types of outages. The switches also help crews find problems faster and reroute electricity remotely.
- New Tie Line: Linking two local power lines to make it easier to shift customers from one line to another when repairs are needed.
The project started in August and is expected to completed in December 2025.
The upgrades are part of FE PA's Long Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan (LTIIP) III, which accelerates important investments in electric system reliability. The LTIIP III investment for the West Penn district's service area is $368 million.
LTIIP is part of Energize365, FirstEnergy's long-term investment program to modernize the electric grid. FirstEnergy plans to invest $28 billion through Energize365 between 2025 and 2029.
"Our investments in innovative technology and stronger equipment help us deliver safe, dependable service for our customers and support growth in our communities,” said John Hawkins, FirstEnergy President, Pennsylvania. “The 7th Street Road line runs through thick woods and sometimes experiences tree-related damage during severe weather, while new switches will make it possible to quickly transfer thousands of customers from this line to a nearby one, keeping their lights on while we make repairs."