Penelec installs new transformer at Bradford substation, part of local efforts to improve service | News | bradfordera.com

The new transformer recently installed at Penelec’s Bradford substation, with the new gate in the background.

A lengthy power outage on a beautiful, late-August day in 2023 affected hundreds of Penelec customers in Bradford when a transformer failed at the utility’s substation near Campus Drive.

At Pitt-Bradford, power went out just as the campus was preparing a welcome-back inflatable carnival and cookout for students on the night before the first day of classes.

Penelec is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy. Spokesman Todd Meyers explained at the time that the disruption “was not a simple weather-related outage,” but crews were stumped as to the root cause. It was, however, determined in rather short order that the transformer could not be repaired.

A mobile substation, now disconnected and ready to be sent to wherever else it might be needed next, provided temporary service to customers until a new transformer could be located, transported and installed.

The upgrade, Penelec officials said, will enhance electric service reliability for more than 1,000 customers in Bradford and Bradford Township, including the University of Pittsburgh’s Bradford campus.

John Hawkins, FirstEnergy president, Pennsylvania, said, “Resolving this critical issue was a top priority so we could provide our customers — including industrial facilities and the local Pitt campus — with reliable electric service. We engineered a solution, identified a spare transformer capable of handling the electrical load and installed the unit. I am pleased to report the new transformer has been in service for more than two months and operating as designed.”

The new transformer measures 7 feet by 4 feet, stands 11 feet tall and weighs nearly 40,000 pounds. A large crane hoisted the unit over the substation fence and onto a concrete foundation along Catalpa Street, off Campus Drive. Access into the substation was also enhanced to prevent utility trucks from blocking the street when using the front gate.

“For years, our utility trucks partially blocked Campus Drive when substation electricians were on site because the driveway into the substation is quite short,” Meyers explained. “We’ve added a new gate at the rear of the substation along Catalpa Street to remedy the situation and keep Campus Drive clear.”

Electricians installed new electric cables in the substation to power the transformer’s forced-air cooling fans, which provide more capacity than the former transformer that relied on natural air circulation to cool.

A Penelec press release regarding the new transformer stated the work is part of Energize365, a multi-year grid evolution program focused on transmission and distribution investments. Officials said the project “will deliver the power FirstEnergy’s customers depend on today while also meeting the challenges of tomorrow. With planned investments of $26 billion between 2024 and 2028, the program will create a smarter, more secure grid that will meet and exceed reliability targets and accommodate electric vehicles, the electrification of homes and businesses and clean energy sources.”

Earlier this year Penelec completed another significant project aimed at improving service reliability for Bradford-area customers when crews worked for several months trimming trees along three power lines.

“The extensive forestry work we tackled in the spring has really helped reduce the number of tree-related outages experienced in Bradford and surrounding areas,” Meyers said. “When powerful summer thunderstorms blew through, McKean County often experienced relatively few outages.”

He added that the removal of 1,400 trees posing a danger to Penelec equipment from beyond the company’s right-of-way was “a major project that should continue to pay dividends for years to come."

Meyers continued, “Penelec employees are hard at work to improve the reliability of electric service for our residential, commercial and industrial customers. We have plans to rebuild additional infrastructure in the new year, with many of the materials needed already transported to our Bradford facility and on hand.”

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