FirstEnergy plans new lines to serve Youngstown area

By LEE MURRAY

newsoutlet.org

YOUNGSTOWN

FirstEnergy Corp. has announced plans to run more than 100 miles of new electric transmission line from Beaver, Pa., to a new substation in Glenwillow, Cuyahoga County.

The line will serve Youngstown and surrounding areas and is due to be activated by June 2015.

FirstEnergy is closing nine regional power plants. When those plants close, the new line will take over, providing energy to the Valley from the Bruce Mansfield power plant in Beaver, Pa., one of the largest electric power plants in the country.

The plants that are set to close are falling short of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. It is cheaper to retire the failing sites and run a new service from Pennsylvania, company officials said.

The estimated cost of the new line is $184 million, with a further $37 million being spent to construct the new substation in Glenwillow. The line and substation are part of a larger series of projects across multiple states that will cost between $700 million and $900 million over the next few years.

Up to 70 percent of the new line will be installed on the free arms of existing poles in a bid to reduce disruption of service. Using existing poles also will significantly reduce construction costs.

FirstEnergy has submitted the proposed route of the new line to the Ohio Power Siting Board, which oversees the environmental compatibility of proposed energy construction projects.

FirstEnergy also has submitted alternative routes should OPSB find any problems with the original proposal.

“We are going to build on existing structures that we already have,” said Jennifer Young of FirstEnergy. “The purpose behind it is to provide greater system reliability as we retire some power plants across the Ohio region.”

To avoid interruption in service, FirstEnergy will continue to work alongside PJM Interconnection, an organization responsible for managing the high- voltage grid across 13 states, including Ohio.

“We are working closely with PJM to ensure our customers are not interrupted” said Young.

FirstEnergy will have public informational meetings about the proposed route. They encourage public input for consideration. These meetings will take place June 18 at East Palestine High School in East Palestine and June 19 at the Mahoning County Career & Technical Center in Canfield. Both sessions start at 6 p.m.

The NewsOutlet is a joint media venture by student and professional journalists and is a collaboration of Youngstown State University, WYSU radio and The Vindicator.