FirstEnergy announces $35M in projects

GREENSBURG – FirstEnergy Corp. said Monday it is investing nearly $35 million in new electric transmission projects to support the Marcellus Shale gas industry in Western Pennsylvania, with the lion’s share of the outlay to be spent in Washington County.
FirstEnergy said in a press release that the new transmission facilities also will help enhance service reliability for West Penn Power customers.
The projects include upgrading an existing transmission line as well as building or expanding two electric substations to accommodate expanding natural gas processing plants and compressor stations in the area’s Marcellus Shale gas fields.
The company said new gas processing facilities in the area account for about 370 megawatts of projected load growth, or the equivalent of more than 180,000 new homes in FirstEnergy’s Western Pennsylvania utility territory.
“Our investment in new transmission facilities directly supports the fast-growing Marcellus Shale industry,” said Carl Bridenbaugh, FirstEnergy’s vice president of transmission. “This industry continues to generate jobs and economic prosperity across Western Pennsylvania, and we are working quickly to upgrade our system to continue providing our customers access to safe, reliable and affordable electric power.”
According to FirstEnergy, PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, has directed it to build the projects to maintain electric reliability in the region.
The projects include:
• A $31 million substation in Washington County to support a new midstream gas processing facility near Burgettstown that separates natural gas into dry and liquid components.
In August, MarkWest Energy Partners announced that it will construct a sixth processing complex in the Marcellus Shale named the Fox complex (formerly known as the Hillman complex) that will support Range Resources Corp.’s rapidly growing rich-gas production. The Fox complex will initially consist of Fox I, a 200 million cubic-feet-per-day processing plant, and an associated de-ethanization facility. It is scheduled to become operational during the first quarter of 2016.
Propane and heavier natural gas liquids recovered at the Fox complex will be transported by a new pipeline to the Houston complex for fractionation.
FirstEnergy said the refinement and separation processes require large amounts of electricity. The new substation also will reinforce the regional transmission system, which is expected to benefit more than 40,000 West Penn Power customers in Washington and Allegheny counties. The new substation is scheduled to be completed and operational in 2016.
• FirstEnergy said it also will install new equipment to increase and maintain voltage levels in an existing transmission substation near Houston. The improvements will support operations at the MarkWest gas processing plant in Chartiers Township.
FirstEnergy spokesman Todd Meyers said Monday the $1 million upgrade, expected to be completed and operational in mid-2015, also will reinforce the regional transmission system and is expected to benefit more than 23,000 customers in Washington County.
• The company also will upgrade a nine-mile, 138-kilovolt transmission line connecting a high-voltage substation near Weirton, W.Va., to a high-voltage substation near Burgettstown.
The $2.3 million project involves replacing several existing wood pole structures with taller structures, or modifying those existing structures to increase their height. The company said the changes will increase line clearances and allow the line to carry more electricity to support area gas compressor stations and enhance service reliability for nearly 12,000 customers in Washington County.