$538 Million FirstEnergy Initiative Strengthens Pennsylvania Electric Grid
FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company (FE PA), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., has completed upgrades in McKean County to improve electric service for over 1,000 Bradford and Bradford Township customers.
Crews installed new underground lines connected to the Bradford West Substation, increasing power capacity and allowing operators to reroute electricity during outages. The work includes stronger cables, redundant lines, and protective conduits designed to resist water, road salt, and soil corrosion. Additional adjustments are planned in 2026 to further support system reliability.
John Hawkins, FirstEnergy’s President of Pennsylvania Operations, said, “We know how much our customers count on reliable electricity every day… These upgrades are expected to make a real difference for the Bradford community.”
The McKean County project is part of FE PA’s Long Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan (LTIIP III), which allocates $538 million to Penelec’s service area. LTIIP III is part of Energize365, FirstEnergy’s $28 billion investment program (2025–2029) to modernize the electric grid and improve system reliability.
The work follows previous reporting on FirstEnergy’s statewide LTIIP III grid modernization plan, with the McKean County project representing the completion of this phase. The project builds on prior upgrades, including a substation transformer replacement, and is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the electric system.
Source: investors.firstenergycorp.com
