USA, Pennsylvania, Erie County: Work will begin this summer on rebuilding an ageing electric transmission line in western Erie County. The $51.4 M project will replace an 11.6-km (7.2-mi) section of the Ashtabula–Erie West line running through Springfield and Conneaut townships.
Construction is scheduled to start in June and finish by March 2027.
The transmission line, originally built in the 1960s, is owned and operated by FirstEnergy subsidiary Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission LLC. It runs from a substation near Route 215 in Springfield Township to the Ohio border before continuing towards Ashtabula.
According to FirstEnergy, the line plays an important role in delivering electricity to homes, schools, hospitals and businesses across the region. However, many parts of the system have deteriorated over time.
Information submitted to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission showed that 27 of the 39 transmission structures in Erie County are corroding, while guy wires supporting 19 structures are severely worn. The line has also experienced several outages in recent years, including shutdowns for repairs and preventive work to avoid wider grid failures.
As part of the upgrade, 29 ageing structures will be removed and replaced with 28 new H-frame structures between 27 and 36 m (88 and 118 feet) tall. Crews will also install stronger steel poles, replace ageing insulators and hardware, and fit higher-capacity conductors designed to carry more electricity.
The work will remain within the existing utility corridor and will not require additional land.
The project forms part of FirstEnergy’s wider Energize365 programme, a $36 B investment plan aimed at strengthening and modernising the power grid through 2030.
