FirstEnergy Corp. has secured $50 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office to bolster electricity reliability for over 53,000 customers in West Virginia and Maryland. The funding, part of the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will support system enhancements totaling close to $127 million. FirstEnergy subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison will oversee the improvements, expected to be completed by late 2029.
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The upgrade project aims to reduce outage frequency and duration by incorporating advanced technology and equipment across 19 counties, benefiting about 50,660 customers in West Virginia and 2,500 customers in Maryland. Critical facilities, including schools and hospitals, will also experience increased reliability due to these enhancements.
Key upgrades involve the installation of smart devices on power lines to enable remote isolation during damage incidents, automation projects to allow personnel to switch customers to alternate lines during outages, and new wires capable of carrying higher electrical currents, which will provide backup power options.
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Approximately 47,260 Mon Power customers in counties like Barbour, Harrison, and Greenbrier in West Virginia, and around 3,400 Potomac Edison customers in Berkeley, Jefferson, and Mineral counties, as well as 2,500 customers in Western Maryland, are set to benefit from these initiatives.
Additionally, the project includes a new four-year apprenticeship program with training centers in Williamsport, Maryland, and Fairmont, West Virginia. This program aims to address workforce needs, offering paid, full-time employment to apprentices specializing in line work and substation electrical services.
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Mon Power serves around 395,000 customers across 34 counties in West Virginia, while Potomac Edison supplies approximately 285,000 customers in Maryland and 155,000 in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle. FirstEnergy, a major U.S. electric utility, operates one of the largest investor-owned electric systems, servicing over six million customers across multiple states.
Story by multiple RFHC contributors
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