Sep 29 2014
West Penn Power, a FirstEnergy Corp. utility, has completed a significant substation upgrade near Ryerson Station to help enhance customer service reliability in Greene County, Pa., and help support the electricity demand of local coal mines.
The project included installing a new 73-ton transformer that converts power from 138-kilovolts (kV) to 25-kV as it moves along the transmission system to serve customers.; The new unit joins an existing, similarly sized transformer in the substation. Together, the two transformers help provide added reliability in the event either unit would be off line for maintenance, repair, or from severe weather.
"The work was done to enhance our infrastructure and service reliability, with the new transformer providing greater redundancy than was previously available," said David W. McDonald, president of West Penn Power. "We now have two transformers available to serve customers, with either one capable of handling the substation's electric load, which is critical to local coal mines that operate around the clock."