FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company (FE PA), a FirstEnergy subsidiary named Met-Ed in southeastern Pennsylvania, is building a new substation off bustling Route 422 in South Annville Township in Lebanon County to supply electricity to new warehouse facilities in a growing industrial complex.
The work is part of Energize365, a multi-year grid evolution program focused on transmission and distribution investments.
New distribution lines will link the substation to the local electric network, improving service reliability for more than 2,100 Met-Ed customers in Annville, South Annville Township and Palmyra having increased electrical load growth. The project will offer a backup power feed for nearby customers, if wires or equipment on their regular line are damaged or are required to be discontinued from service, upon completion.
"Our new substation will provide the critical infrastructure necessary to energize an enormous shipping hub in the busy motor freight corridor encompassing Interstates 78 and 81 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike,” said John Hawkins, FirstEnergy's President, Pennsylvania. “It will also provide operational flexibility for our local electric grid to better serve our residential and business customers in these fast-growing communities."
While construction of the substation commenced in spring 2024, it is expected to be completed by early 2025. Met-Ed substation crews have installed steel structures, circuit breakers, electrical cables and other substation equipment.
Delivery of the 69 kV-to-13.2 kV transformer is expected in December, which will measure 13.5-feet tall by 20-feet wide and weigh more than 100,000 pounds.
Two short power lines will exit the substation, with plans to expand these lines and build a third power line from the substation in the future. One line will serve the 1.1-million sq ft Eagle Point Logistics Center next to the substation and the second line will supply a new 1 million sq ft facility directly across Killinger Road from the substation, the first of three warehouses planned for the Clear Springs Logistics Park.
The line will run north to Route 422 and connect with an existing power line to provide additional operational flexibility when work is completed.
Additionally, contractors are constructing a new 69-kV transmission line to supply the new substation with power from an existing transmission line. The line will be attached to 16 steel poles standing 45 to 70 feet tall.
