Mon Power Completes Inspections and Maintenance for Summer Season to Help Enhance Customer Service Reliability

With the hot, humid summer months expected to produce higher electric usage, Mon Power, a FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiary, has completed projects, inspections, and equipment maintenance across its 34-county service territory in north central West Virginia to enhance service reliability for customers.

Helicopter patrols have completed inspections on more than 2,000 miles of FirstEnergy transmission lines located in the Mon Power area.  The inspections are designed to look for damaged wire, broken cross arms, failed insulators, and other hardware problems not visible from the ground.  Potential reliability issues identified during the inspection will be addressed.  

On the ground, the inspections include using “thermovision” cameras to capture infrared images that can detect potential problems with Mon Power substation equipment such as transformers and capacitors.  By identifying hot spots, maintenance and repairs can be handled prior to a power outage occurring.

Mon Power utility crews also conducted inspections of distribution circuits, which also included transformers, capacitors, reclosers and lightning arrestors to ensure the equipment is operational and the lines are ready to perform efficiently when demand for electricity increases during the summer, typically due to air conditioning usage.

“Our customers turn up their air conditioning to keep cool during sweltering summer weather,” said Holly Kauffman, FirstEnergy’s president of West Virginia operations.  “We proactively inspect and maintain our equipment to ensure system reliability to meet the increased electrical demand when the temperatures climb and customers depend on us to help them stay comfortable.”

Tree trimming is another key to preparing our system to meet the rigors of summer operations by maintaining proper clearances around electrical systems and helping to protect against tree-related outages.  Mon Power tree contractors have trimmed more than 1,000 circuit miles of electric lines since January and expect to trim another 3,500 miles by year end.

In addition, a team of Mon Power and FirstEnergy employees recently conducted a readiness exercise to test the company’s restoration process used to repair storm-related power outages.  Storm drills are becoming more common in the utility industry in the wake of severe weather over the last several years.

Mon Power’s power plants also are making preparations to meet the expected demand for electricity this summer.  Plant personnel have done inspections and performed maintenance on key operational systems to ensure the power stations will be available during extreme heat conditions.  In addition, if maintenance is needed throughout the summer, the work will be scheduled around periods of peak demand in order to ensure that generation is available when it is most needed.

For updated company information, including hot weather tips, customers are urged to visit the 24/7 Power Center at www.firstenergycorp.com/outages.

In addition to the work being done by company employees, summer also is a time when roofers, home builders, lawn service workers and other contractors work long hours.  To help stay safe around electrical equipment while on the job, FirstEnergy offers important tips at www.firstenergycorp.com/contractorsafety.

Mon Power serves about 385,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties.  Follow Mon Power on Twitter @MonPowerWV.  Visit FirstEnergy on the web at www.firstenergycorp.com.

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 workers conducting thermovision inspections to enhance service reliability for FirstEnergy customers are available for download on Flickr.