Apr 19, 2013 2 min read

GREENSBURG – West Penn Power said Thursday it will spend approximately $110 million in 2013 to further enhance the electrical system and reliability in its 24-county service area, including several projects in Greene and Washington counties.

West Penn, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., said major projects scheduled for this year include transmission improvements, building new circuits, replacing underground cables, inspecting and replacing utility poles and ongoing vegetation management programs.

West Penn said about $19 million will be spent on a variety of transmission expansions and enhancements to increase the capacity of its high-voltage transmission system.

Other scheduled projects include:

• Installing a 500-kilovolt transformer at a substation near Mt. Morris to help reinforce the transmission system in Southwestern Pennsylvania at a cost of more than $5 million.

• Constructing the remaining 8.5 miles of new 138-kV transmission line and adding breakers to the Whiteley Substation in Greene County to enhance the transmission network in the area. The final phase of the $12 million, multi-year project will be completed this year.

West Penn also said it will spend about $25 million on its ongoing vegetation management program, trimming trees and maintaining proper clearances to reduce tree-related storm damage along nearly 4,500 miles of distribution and subtransmission.

The company said it will also upgrade the Clark Farm substation in Chartiers Township.

West Penn Power serves about 720,000 customers in 24 Pennsylvania counties.