Met-Ed Conducting Inspections and Maintenance to Help Enhance Customer Service Reliability Through Summer Season

READING, Pa., June 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With the hot, humid summer months expected to produce higher electric usage and potentially severe weather, Metropolitan Edison Company (Met-Ed), a FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiary, is completing inspections and conducting equipment maintenance in its 14-county eastern and south-central Pennsylvania service area to enhance service reliability for customers. The company is also ready to respond to power outages caused during the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs through November 30, 2020, and is predicted to be particularly active this year. 

Cost-effective helicopter patrols have completed inspections of nearly 1,400 miles of transmission lines located in the Met-Ed area. The inspections are designed to look for damaged wire, broken cross arms, failed insulators and other hardware problems not visible from the ground.  Any potential reliability issues identified during the inspection will be addressed immediately.

On the ground, Met-Ed crews are inspecting distribution circuits, including 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.

The summer readiness inspections include using "thermovision" cameras to capture infrared images that can detect potential problems with Met-Ed substation equipment such as transformers and capacitors. By identifying hot spots, maintenance and repairs can be conducted prior to a power outage occurring.

"Summer heat and humidity results in our customers using more fans and air conditioning to stay cool," said Linda Moss, Met-Ed regional president. "We proactively inspect and maintain our equipment to help ensure system reliability to meet the increased electrical demand when temperatures soar, and our customers depend on us to help them remain comfortable." 

Tree trimming is another key to preparing the Met-Ed system to meet the rigors of summer operations by maintaining proper clearances around electrical systems and helping to protect against tree-related outages. Met-Ed tree contractors have trimmed approximately 1,300 circuit miles of electric lines since January and expect to trim another 1,800 miles by year end.

In addition, a team of Met-Ed and FirstEnergy employees perform readiness exercises 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.

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.

Met-Ed serves approximately 570,000 customers within 3,300 square miles of eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania. Follow Met-Ed on Twitter @Met Ed and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MetEdElectric.

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 approximately 24,500 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Visit FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

Editor's Note:  Photos of workers conducting thermovision inspections to enhance service reliability for FirstEnergy customers are available for download on Flickr. A video of utility personnel conducting a thermovision inspection and explaining the work can be found on the company's YouTube channel.

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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.