By Lauren Siburkis<\/p>\n
A major upgrade to the electric grid is underway to bring more electricity to the region and support faster power restoration for more than 6,000 FirstEnergy Pennsylvania (FE PA) customers in Berks County.<\/p>\n
Led by Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission LLC (MAIT), a FirstEnergy Transmission company, the Van Reed 69-kV Transmission Project includes constructing a new substation in Bern Township and adding a nearly four-mile, high-voltage power line on a combination of wood and steel poles that add additional strength to the system. The work is designed to reduce outages around Reading, Bern Township, and Leesport and support growth in southeastern Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Mark Mroczynski, President of Transmission for FirstEnergy, said, \u201cWith valuable input from community members and public officials, we\u2019re delivering a project that reflects their feedback and supports what matters most to the region. This solution enhances service reliability for everyday customers while helping to attract new jobs, new families, and new opportunities. We\u2019re proud to help carry that momentum forward by investing in the power infrastructure needed to meet today\u2019s demand and tomorrow\u2019s potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project is moving forward with strong support from the Berks County Commissioners and local development agencies, who have played a pivotal role since the project\u2019s early planning nearly a decade ago. By working closely together, FE PA and MAIT are helping make sure the region has the dependable electric service it needs to help current and future employers grow and create opportunities.<\/p>\n
Construction began in early January, and the project is expected to be in service before the end of this year.<\/p>\n
What\u00a0upgrades\u00a0mean for\u00a0customers<\/p>\n
If you live in central Berks County, this project is expected to help your lights stay on by handling higher demand during extreme cold and heat and standing up better to severe storms.<\/p>\n
If you do experience an outage, this upgrade adds backup power sources and smarter equipment that can reroute electricity. That means:<\/p>\n
Fewer outages.Faster restoration.More reliable service for homes, businesses, and companies looking to start or expand here.<\/p>\n
Think of the work as\u00a0upgrading from a two-lane road to a four-lane highway. With\u00a0more\u00a0capacity and stronger infrastructure, the system can better handle increased \u201ctraffic\u201d and bounce back faster when issues occur.<\/p>\n
Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach said, \u201cThis project is a critical investment in Berks County\u2019s future. Strengthening the power grid\u00a0means more reliable electric service for our residents and businesses. This initiative paves the way for economic growth across the region, especially\u00a0the area surrounding the Reading Regional Airport. It provides the power for existing businesses to expand and\u00a0attracts new businesses while moving our community forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeffrey Rush, Board Chairman, Greater Reading Chamber Alliance, said, \u201cThe Greater Reading Chamber Alliance supports FirstEnergy\u2019s continued investment in expanding electric service in Berks County. Reliable, resilient energy infrastructure is foundational to business attraction, retention, and expansion. These improvements strengthen our competitive position and support long-term economic growth across the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Built for today \u2013 and tomorrow<\/p>\n
This approximately $30 million project is part of Energize365, FirstEnergy\u2019s long-term investment program to modernize and strengthen the electric grid. FirstEnergy plans to invest $36 billion between 2026 and 2030 to build a smarter, more resilient grid that meets the evolving needs of communities across the service area. In Pennsylvania alone, the company plans to invest approximately $13 billion through 2030, consisting of nearly $6.7 billion in transmission investments and $6.7 billion in distribution investments.<\/p>\n
Customers can learn more about the value of a modern transmission system through FirstEnergy\u2019s video series\u00a0\u201cWhy a Modern Transmission System Matters to You\u201d on the company\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n About FirstEnergy Transmission and FirstEnergy Corp.<\/p>\n FirstEnergy Transmission, jointly owned by FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) and Brookfield Super-Core Infrastructure Partners, owns and operates American Transmission Systems Inc. (ATSI), Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission LLC (MAIT), and Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Company (TrAILCo).<\/p>\n FirstEnergy is one of the nation\u2019s largest investor-owned electric systems, serving more than six million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, and New York. The company\u2019s transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at\u00a0firstenergycorp.com<\/a>\u00a0and on X\u00a0@FirstEnergyCorp<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Lauren Siburkis A major upgrade to the electric grid is underway to bring more electricity to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":{"0":"post-121120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reading","8":"tag-reading-city","9":"tag-reading-city-headlines","10":"tag-reading-city-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}