FirstEnergy Corp.'s Ohio utilities filed a three-year, $450 million plan with state regulators to redesign and modernize portions of their distribution system in a bid to reduce the frequency and duration of power outages.
The plan, submitted to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, calls for investments in circuit ties, reconductoring, reclosers and data acquisition systems, according to a Dec. 1 news release.
"Portions of our system were originally designed to serve hundreds of customers on single, standalone lines, meaning a single outage could leave many customers without power until repairs are made," FirstEnergy utilities President Steve Strah said. "Our plan would allow us to isolate damage to a confined area and allow other customers along the line to be quickly restored by rerouting power from nearby lines."
Ohio Edison Co., Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. and Toledo Edison Co. expect the modernization project to reduce outages under normal conditions by as much as 30% or more and speed restoration time by up to 25% on targeted power lines.
Aside from improving reliability, the proposed projects would support future integration of new, smart technologies as well as customer-driven applications such as plug-in electric vehicles and distributed energy resources.
FirstEnergy estimates that the cost of the projects would comprise about 2% of the typical residential customer's monthly bill.
