New FirstEnergy Transmission Line Energized in West Virginia to Support Shale Gas Industry
FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) has energized a vital transmission line in Harrison and Doddridge counties, W.Va., that both supports the electric demands of the area’s Marcellus Shale gas industry and helps enhance service reliability for nearly 13,000 Mon Power customers in the Clarksburg and Salem areas.
The $98 million transmission line is supported by 80 steel structures along an 18-mile corridor linking transmission substations in the Clarksburg and Sherwood areas. The line route parallels an existing FirstEnergy transmission line for about 11 miles north of U.S. Route 50.
Crews placed the new 138-kilovolt (kV) line in service about a month ago.
“As West Virginia’s prominent shale gas industry continues its upward trajectory, FirstEnergy works diligently to keep pace with infrastructure enhancements such as this new transmission line,” said Holly Kauffman, FirstEnergy’s president of West Virginia Operations. “We are committed to supporting this important growth industry that consumes significant amounts of electricity to run compressor stations and midstream gas processing plants. Our upgrades to the region’s electric grid also enhance service reliability, benefitting thousands of our longtime customers.”
Anchoring both ends of the line are new or upgraded substation facilities. The substation near Clarksburg was expanded to accommodate new circuit breakers added to protect the new 138-kV line. The new substation near Sherwood, energized in 2014 at a cost of about $56 million, was primarily constructed to support the growing electrical needs of a nearby gas plant while also benefitting more than 6,000 Mon Power customers along the U.S. Route 50 corridor in Doddridge, Harrison and Ritchie counties with enhanced service reliability.
