Electrical Supplier News

electrical

FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Completes Electric Upgrades to Boost Reliability for Bradford Customers

T&D World•February 02, 2026•2 min read

FirstEnergy

Pennsylvania Electric Company (FE PA), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, known in northwestern Pennsylvania as Penelec, has completed an upgrade in McKean County to provide more reliable and resilient electric service for more than 1,000 Bradford and Bradford Township customers.

New underground cable for three power lines served by a local substation is helping to reduce outages, speed power restoration and support local growth. The project builds on work completed in 2024, when Penelec installed a new substation transformer to deliver more electricity and meet the community's power needs.

The work includes:

Installing stronger cables: New, bigger underground wires to carry more electricity to local homes and businesses.

Adding backup capabilities: Redundant power lines for customers to switch to another line to minimize power outages during various issues.

Protecting new equipment: Sturdy plastic pipes to protect underground power lines from water, road salt and corrosive soil to keep electricity more reliable.

Completing additional upgrades in 2026: Adjustments to existing pole-top equipment in the coming year will make it easier to reroute electricity and further reduce outages.

The upgrades are part of FE PA's Long Term Infrastructure Improvement Plan (LTIIP) III, which accelerates important investments in electric system reliability. The LTIIP III investment for Penelec's service area is $538 million.

Share Your Insights!

Publish your articles, reach a global audience, and make an impact.

Electrical Related News You might want to check out

View by

Home battery installations surge to record highs as households chase energy independence

electrical

02 Apr 2026

ByElectrical Connection

2 min read

Home battery installations surge to record highs as households chase energy independence

Australian households installed almost as many home batteries in the six months to the end of 2025 as they did in the previous five years combined, setting a new national record as families and businesses look to cut power bills and boost energy independence. The Clean Energy Council’s bi-annual Rooftop Solar and Storage Report (July–December 2025) shows more than 183,245 battery units were sold in the second half of last year, a four-fold increase on the same period in 2024. That figure represents 99% of all battery sales made between 2020 and 2024 and brings total household battery installations to 454,753 nationwide. ADVERTISEMENT Rooftop solar uptake remained strong, with more than 139,080 systems installed in the latter half of 2025. While overall solar installations eased slightly across the year, falling to 254,664 systems from 300,375 in 2024, rooftop solar continues to expand its contribution to the grid, supplying 14.2% of Australia’s electricity in 2025, almost double its sh

Home battery installations surge to record highs as households chase energy independence

Electrical Connection

AI-Enabled Technology Analyzes Utility Poles to Improve Reliability and Resiliency

Looq AI, an exhibitor at Distributech in Booth #UL423, today announced the launch of qPole. This AI-enabled solution is designed to make the power grid more reliable and resilient by training AI models to understand utility poles the same way experienced engineers do, based on physical structure, geometry, materials and real-world context. About the Technology The U.S. power grid consists of an estimated 180 million to 200 million distribution poles — some aging, some in areas with extreme weather. Utilities face growing pressure to comply with state mandates for wildfire risk reduction and storm hardening. Accurate pole data has become a critical foundation for grid reliability, yet it is still largely collected and processed using a slow, manual and inconsistent workflow. Currently, thousands of utility contract companies work around the clock to complete detailed Pole Load Analysis (PLA). Geophysical reasoning is a way to understand physical objects, such as poles, in both 2D and 3D

AI-Enabled Technology Analyzes Utility Poles to Improve Reliability and Resiliency

Pulse Clean Energy brings 30MW battery storage site online in Lancashire

Pulse Clean Energy has announced that its 30MW/60MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at Town Lane, Charnock Richard, near Chorley in Lancashire, is now operational. The site becomes Pulse Clean Energy’s eighth operational project since 2023, as battery storage continues to be positioned as a key tool for maintaining grid stability while renewable generation expands. Located on a former scrapyard, the brownfield site has been redeveloped into an energy storage facility designed to support the national power network by absorbing surplus electricity when generation is high and exporting it back to the grid during periods of higher demand. Pulse Clean Energy says the project will provide balancing services for the network as wind and solar deployment grows across the North West. The company claims the two-hour duration site can ‘power over 65,000 homes for an hour’, and that it will help prevent around 2,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year – figures it equates to removing 700 diesel

Pulse Clean Energy brings 30MW battery storage site online in Lancashire

National Grid Launches New Digital Twin and Data Visualization Tool, Triton, to Support Network Planning

National Grid has introduced Triton, a new digital twin and data visualization tool designed to support electricity network planning. The tool was developed in collaboration with Atos and is intended to help National Grid plan for future electricity demand as part of efforts to meet Great Britain’s decarbonization objectives. Triton provides a visual platform that shows projections of electricity demand across the network by mapping expected growth at grid supply points and transmission substations. The platform creates a digital replica of the physical network and can process and manage extensive datasets. According to National Grid, this capability is expected to support network scenario analysis and planning and could reduce the time needed to analyze and make reinforcement decisions by up to 70%. The tool consolidates data from distribution network operators and transmission owners and automates complex processes to enable scenario modelling. Triton is designed to integrate with Na

National Grid Launches New Digital Twin and Data Visualization Tool, Triton, to Support Network Planning

Atos, National Grid launch ‘Triton’ digital twin tool for network planning

National Grid has teamed up with Atos to launch a new digital twin and data visualisation tool intended to speed up electricity network planning as demand grows to meet decarbonisation targets across the UK. The tool, dubbed Triton, provides a long-term view of expected electricity demand growth across the network by mapping forecasts at grid supply points and transmission substations. This, the companies argue, should help target investment and reinforcement to the areas most likely to need upgrades. It works by creating a digital replica of National Grid’s physical infrastructure, using the underlying data to run network scenarios. It’s claimed that the approach can reduce the time required to analyse options and decide where to reinforce the network by 70%. At a time when the grid is under pressure from electrification – including electric vehicles, heat pumps, large industrial loads and the rapid growth of data centres – tools that can reduce planning friction are increasingly bein

Atos, National Grid launch ‘Triton’ digital twin tool for network planning

ByElectrical Connection

2 min read

Construction safety improves, but AIHS warns industry must not lose focus

Australian construction workers are returning to safer sites, according to new work-related fatality data from Safe Work Australia , but industry leaders are being warned that progress must not lead to complacency. Figures show 167 workplace-related fatalities were recorded in 2025, down from 188 the previous year. Construction was among several traditionally high-risk industries to record an improvement, alongside transport, agriculture and manufacturing. ADVERTISEMENT The Australian Institute of Health & Safety (AIHS) says the decline reflects stronger safety leadership, better training and greater worker involvement across sectors like building and construction, but stresses that the risks on worksites remain significant. AIHS chair Celia Antonovsky says every fatality is one too many, particularly in industries where workers are exposed to complex, high-risk environments every day: “Construction sites are dynamic, fast-moving workplaces and while it’s encouraging to see fatalit

Construction safety improves, but AIHS warns industry must not lose focus

Electrical Connection

Ontario Energy Board Elects Hydro One to Develop and Construct the Greenstone Transmission Line

The Honourable Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines, has directed the Ontario Energy Board to designate Hydro One Networks to develop and construct a new priority transmission line in the Greenstone region. The transmission line, expected to be operational in 2032, will provide additional capacity to the area and improve reliability for northern communities once completed. The line is also expected to drive economic development and support Indigenous community growth. The proposed project is a single-circuit 230 kV transmission line, designed to support a future second circuit and will be connected to the existing 230-kV infrastructure (the East-West Tie) near Nipigon Bay. The line will extend to Longlac Transformer Station where a new 230-kV station will connect to the existing 115-kV circuit and continue to or near Aroland First Nation, terminating at a new 230-kV switching station with associated station facilities. Through Hydro One's First Nation 50-50 Equity Partnership Mo

Ontario Energy Board Elects Hydro One to Develop and Construct the Greenstone Transmission Line

FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Completes Electric Upgrades to Boost Reliability for Bradford Customers

FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company (FE PA), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, known in northwestern Pennsylvania as Penelec, has completed an upgrade in McKean County to provide more reliable and resilient electric service for more than 1,000 Bradford and Bradford Township customers. New underground cable for three power lines served by a local substation is helping to reduce outages, speed power restoration and support local growth. The project builds on work completed in 2024, when Penelec installed a new substation transformer to deliver more electricity and meet the community's power needs. The work includes: Installing stronger cables: New, bigger underground wires to carry more electricity to local homes and businesses. Adding backup capabilities: Redundant power lines for customers to switch to another line to minimize power outages during various issues. Protecting new equipment: Sturdy plastic pipes to protect underground power lines from water, road salt and corrosive soil

FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Completes Electric Upgrades to Boost Reliability for Bradford Customers

National Grid DSO awards 196GWh in largest long-term flexibility tender to date

National Grid’s Distribution System Operator (DSO) has secured what it says is its biggest long-term flexibility portfolio to date, awarding 196GWh of flexibility availability through its latest annual tender. The tender round, which National Grid DSO said closed in November, expands the volume of flexibility it has contracted to help manage constraints on the distribution network – a role that is becoming more important as electrification increases and more renewable generation connects at local level. Cathy McClay, Managing Director of National Grid DSO, noted, “This year’s results show real momentum behind flexibility as a smarter, more efficient way to operate the electricity network and ultimately drive down costs for consumers. “We’re delighted to have delivered our largest long-term tender yet and to see such a positive response to our new Flex Up service. It’s a strong foundation as we continue to expand and evolve our local flexibility markets.” National Grid DSO said the 2025

National Grid DSO awards 196GWh in largest long-term flexibility tender to date

ByElectrical Connection

2 min read

Three key directions in decorative lighting

The bora.herke.palmisano style agency has developed three lighting trends through global research into materials, colours and product innovation ahead of Light + Building, a global trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany for the lighting and electrical industry. Designers are increasingly focused on creating lighting that combines modern aesthetics with adaptability and longevity, according to Annetta Palmisano from bora.herke.palmisano. The result is a move toward sculptural yet versatile luminaires, often drawing on retro-modern references while remaining grounded in proven design principles. ADVERTISEMENT The first theme, sensuous atmospheres, centres on restrained forms and softly glowing designs that create calming, intimate environments. Subtle lighting effects, inspiration from circadian rhythms and nature-led colour palettes feature strongly, with textiles, matte finishes and layered glass and metal used to diffuse light and enhance wellbeing. Energetic gatherings is the next theme an

Three key directions in decorative lighting

Electrical Connection

Heat pump boom could be worth £22.5 billion to UK economy, says new report

The UK could unlock £22.55 billion of economic benefits by 2035 if it were to accelerate the decarbonisation of residential heating, according to a new report from Heat Pump Association UK (HPA UK). The report, dubbed From Carbon to Competitiveness: The UK Opportunity Associated with Decarbonising Residential Heating , comes amid the backdrop of the recently-released Warm Homes Plan. That plan pledged new money towards continued financing towards heat pumps, as well as new funding for solar and batteries , but stopped short of banning gas boilers – which could impact sales of heat pumps. Despite not receiving the boost that could help supercharge the installation of heat pumps, HPA UK is keen to stress that installing the technology could have huge economic benefits – on top of the already well-established decarbonisation benefits. That’s because, according to its report, electrifying home heating – “primarily through hydronic heat pumps” – could increase total Gross Value Added (GVA)

Heat pump boom could be worth £22.5 billion to UK economy, says new report

PSE&G Energy Efficiency Programs Deliver More Than $900 Million in Annual Utility Bill Savings for New Jersey Customers

The Public Service Electric & Gas’ (PSE&G) Clean Energy Future-Energy Efficiency (CEF-EE) report has demonstrated continued savings for customers across New Jersey. While nearly 480,000 customers participated in PSE&G's energy efficiency programs, the participation has delivered more than $900 million in annual customer savings. The savings showcase a broad range of energy efficiency offerings designed to help customers use less energy and better manage utility costs. Offerings include energy assessments, appliance and HVAC rebates, lighting solutions, equipment upgrades and energy efficiency products available through the PSE&G Marketplace, helping customers in taking action based on their needs and preferences. Additional program highlights include: More than 105,000 home energy assessments completed Nearly 350,000 smart thermostats sold through PSE&G Marketplace Approximately 150,000 rebates claimed for upgrades to energy-efficient appliances Approximately $940 m

PSE&G Energy Efficiency Programs Deliver More Than $900 Million in Annual Utility Bill Savings for New Jersey Customers

T&D World

30 January 2026

Electrical Supplier News

FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Completes Electric Upgrades to Boost Reliability for Bradford Customers

Share Your Insights!

Electrical Related News You might want to check out

Home battery installations surge to record highs as households chase energy independence

AI-Enabled Technology Analyzes Utility Poles to Improve Reliability and Resiliency

Pulse Clean Energy brings 30MW battery storage site online in Lancashire

National Grid Launches New Digital Twin and Data Visualization Tool, Triton, to Support Network Planning

Atos, National Grid launch ‘Triton’ digital twin tool for network planning

Construction safety improves, but AIHS warns industry must not lose focus

Ontario Energy Board Elects Hydro One to Develop and Construct the Greenstone Transmission Line

FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Completes Electric Upgrades to Boost Reliability for Bradford Customers

National Grid DSO awards 196GWh in largest long-term flexibility tender to date

Three key directions in decorative lighting

Heat pump boom could be worth £22.5 billion to UK economy, says new report

PSE&amp;G Energy Efficiency Programs Deliver More Than $900 Million in Annual Utility Bill Savings for New Jersey Customers

PSE&G Energy Efficiency Programs Deliver More Than $900 Million in Annual Utility Bill Savings for New Jersey Customers