American Transmission Systems, Inc. (ATSI), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., has upgraded 16 miles of two high-voltage power lines in Ohio's Lake and Geauga counties, stringing new wires with increased capacity for carrying electricity. The project is expected to strengthen the regional transmission system and enhance service reliability for nearly 5,000 customers of The Illuminating Company, a FirstEnergy company.
The two power lines share 119 transmission towers and connect two area substations, running southwest 16 miles from Leroy Township through Hambden, Chardon, Munson and Chester townships.
The new wires will help reduce the risk of overloads on the lines by allowing them to carry increased power flow during unplanned service interruptions on other transmission lines.
ATSI also installed new components and insulators along the route to support the wires. Helicopter crews performed most of the equipment upgrades along the section.
The project was identified in conjunction with PJM, the electric grid operator for FirstEnergy's service territory, as part of its reliability planning analysis.
While ATSI upgraded an 8-mile section of two separate 138-kilovolt lines between Leroy Township and Chardon Township, a second phase of the upgrade project is planned for the fall of 2024.
The project is part of Energize365, a multi-year grid evolution program focused on transmission and distribution investments to deliver the power FirstEnergy's customers depend on today while also meeting the challenges of tomorrow.
The program will create a smarter, more secure grid to meet and exceed reliability targets and accommodate electric vehicles, the electrification of homes and businesses and clean energy sources, with planned investments of $26 billion between 2024 and 2028.
