West Penn Power Completes Inspections and Maintenance Prior to Winter Weather

GREENSBURG, Pa., Nov. 15, 2018/PRNewswire/ -- West Penn Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), is preparing for winter by conducting inspections and equipment maintenance on weather-sensitive equipment across its service area.

Winter's bitter temperatures typically increase demand for electricity, and snow, ice and wind have the potential to damage poles, wires and substations, requiring crews to make repairs in difficult conditions.  Completing inspections and equipment maintenance now can help enhance system resiliency to keep power flowing to customers when severe weather strikes.

"Crews are readying our infrastructure for the rigors of winter as well as making certain our bucket trucks and other fleet vehicles can navigate treacherous roadways when the mercury drops and the snow flies," said David W. McDonald, regional president of West Penn Power.  "Preparing now for potential severe weather conditions helps enhance the service we provide to our customers."

The checklist includes inspecting substation components, such as capacitor banks, transformers and oil- and gas-filled circuit breakers.  Substation control buildings which house protective relays and remote monitoring and control equipment will be winterized and have their heating systems checked.

Substation electricians inspect batteries used to power relays that sense faults on the network and motors that automatically operate switches to isolate those problems, helping to prevent or reduce service interruptions.  Electricians view critical components through special thermal-imaging cameras to detect hot spots invisible to the naked eye on equipment that could malfunction as customers crank up their heaters to combat the cold.

Company bucket trucks and other vehicles also are being inspected to help ensure safe operation during the winter season.  Special emphasis is placed on the condition of tires and air braking systems, which can freeze up if moisture is present.  In addition, snow removal equipment is being checked. 

Helicopter patrols also are completing inspections on approximately 1,700 miles of FirstEnergy transmission lines located in the West Penn Power service area.  The inspections are designed to look for damaged wire, broken cross arms, failed insulators, and other hardware problems not visible from the ground.  Any potential reliability issues identified during the inspection may then be addressed.

Tree trimming throughout the year also helps meet the rigors of winter operations by maintaining proper clearances around electrical systems and helping to protect against tree-related outages.  West Penn Power tree contractors expect to complete trimming along more than 5,000 circuit miles of electric lines in 2018.

West Penn Power serves about 720,000 customers in 24 Pennsylvania counties.  Connect with West Penn Power on Twitter @W_Penn_Power and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WestPennPower.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence.  Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York.  The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.  Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.

Editor's Note:  Photos of FirstEnergy's utilities' winter inspection and maintenance program are available for download on Flickr.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/west-penn-power-completes-inspections-and-maintenance-prior-to-winter-weather-300751770.html

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.