Mon Power Completes Project To Help Support Shale Gas Industry In West Virginia

Fairmont, WV /PRNewswire/ - Mon Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), has completed a new substation and power lines that will provide electric service to a new Marcellus shale gas facility under construction in Doddridge County, West Virginia.

The $5 million project was completed in early August and will provide electric service to a new fracking water treatment plant being built near Greenwood.  The treatment plant is expected to use more than 16 megawatts (MW) of electricity once fully operational, which is the equivalent of the amount of electricity used to power about 16,000 homes.  The plant is designed to remove salt brine and other materials from wastewater produced by the hydraulic fracturing process used to release shale gas. The treated water then can be reused at gas wellheads.        

"This project is part of Mon Power's continuing efforts to provide reliable electric service for the state's energy-intensive shale gas industry," said Holly Kauffman, president of FirstEnergy's West Virginia operations. "Our newly constructed substation, which will serve this water treatment facility, will help support the state's shale gas industry along with benefiting the environment."

The new substation connects to an existing 138-kilovolt (kV) transmission line. The new substation equipment includes a large transformer that lowers the power from 138-kV to 34.5-kV, circuit breakers and a control building. The substation supplies electricity to the water treatment plant through two new, three-mile, 34.5-kV power lines attached to 70 wooden poles.  

Mon Power serves about 385,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties.  Follow Mon Power on Twitter @MonPowerWV. 

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Marylandand New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Visit FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and follow on Twitter at@FirstEnergyCorp.

Editor's Note: Photos of Mon Power's new power line project in Doddridge County, W.Va., to provide electrical service to a fracking wastewater treatment plant are available for download on Flickr.