Ohio to pursue $15 million in underground electric system upgrades in Cuyahoga County
(UI) – The Illuminating Company, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., is enhancing its underground power system in eastern Cuyahoga County with a cable upgrade that will help boost service reliability for area customers. This work complements more than $15 million in upgrades to the company's underground system over the past five years to benefit nearly 536,000 customers in Cuyahoga County.
The Illuminating Company maintains 11,000 miles of underground wire across the region. This year, nearly 1.5 miles of older, uncoated underground lines in Pepper Pike will be replaced with new power lines coated in a thick shell to make them more durable against elements like dirt, rocks, lightning and water. Since work began in 2015 to harden the system, the company has replaced more than 100 miles of underground lines that served customers well for many years but were ready for an upgrade.
"We operate one of the nation's largest underground electric systems, and these upgrades allow us to continue providing safe, dependable and affordable power to our customers," said Pat Mullin, acting president of FirstEnergy's Ohio operations.
To determine the best locations for the underground upgrades, utility personnel reviewed outage patterns across The Illuminating Company's service territory and identified areas that would most benefit. The work in Pepper Pike is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will benefit about 3,000 customers.
Related News
From Archive
- TxDOT advances massive drainage tunnel beneath I-35 in Austin
- Glenfarne Alaska LNG targets late-2026 construction start for 807-mile pipeline project
- U.S. water reuse boom to fuel $47 billion in infrastructure spending through 2035
- $2.3 billion approved to construct 236-mile Texas-to-Gulf gas pipeline
- Major water pipe break in Puerto Rico hits over 165,000 customers
- Pennsylvania American Water launches interactive map to identify, replace lead water service lines
- Trump's tariffs drive $33 million cost increase for Cincinnati sewer project
- Utah city launches historic $70 million tunnel project using box jacking under active rail line
- Tulsa residents warned after sewer lines damaged by boring work
- Fatal trench collapse halts sewer construction in Massachusetts; two workers hospitalized

Comments