Northeast Ohio - The project is part of Energizing the Future, a multi-year, $7 billion initiative.

FirstEnergy has announced that American Transmission Systems, Inc. (ATSI), their subsidiary, are using helicopters and ground crews to replace more than 1100 insulators along a 68-mile transmission line corridor that runs through Carroll, Columbiana, Jefferson, Stark and Summit counties in northeast Ohio.

According to FirstEnergy, their crews will perform a portion of the insulator replacement work between Wadsworth and New Franklin, Ohio, while most of the replacements will be handled by a contractor that carries linemen to the top of the 80-foot towers via helicopter. The linemen will be harnessed and lowered down onto each structure to install the new insulators, and the helicopter should also lower the new materials for the assembly and carry the old materials away.

This aerial method is faster and more efficient than deploying ground crews to each structure, which would require the creation of access roads for large trucks and equipment.

According to the company, ATSI began replacing the insulators in July and expects to complete the replacements on 376 transmission structures along the corridor by this fall. The transmission line has been de-energized until the work is complete but is not disrupting service to customers, who are being served by an alternate power feed.

"By proactively addressing equipment needs before they become a problem, we can help prevent potential power outages and ensure that our transmission system continues to serve customers safely and reliably in the future," said Carl Bridenbaugh, FirstEnergy's vice president of transmission.

The project is part of Energizing the Future, a multi-year, $7 billion initiative designed to upgrade FirstEnergy's transmission system with advanced equipment and technologies that will reinforce the power grid and help reduce the frequency and duration of customer outages.

Source: FirstEnergy