PECO Completes More Than 4,700 Electric and Natural Gas System Projects to Deliver Enhanced Service for Customers in 2016
April 07 2017 - 10:44AM
Business Wire
As part of PECO’s ongoing efforts to provide customers with safe
and reliable energy service, the company invests more than $500
million each year to enhance its electric and natural gas system
infrastructure through preventive maintenance and equipment
upgrades.
Through PECO’s System 2020 plan, the company is investing an
additional $274 million through 2020 to install advanced equipment
and reinforce the local electric system, making it more weather
resistant and less vulnerable to storm damage.
This ongoing focus on investing and maintaining the company’s
electric and natural gas systems continued to improve reliability
for customers. Last year, the region experienced more frequent
storms than the previous year, but the average number of service
interruptions was the eighth lowest rate in PECO’s history. And,
when service was interrupted, crews were able to safely restore
service in, on average, 88 minutes. The average duration of a
service interruption has been reduced by 15 minutes during the past
five years. In all, PECO’s investments in its system helped ensure
service stayed on 99.987 percent of the time for customers.
“Ensuring safe and reliable natural gas and electric service for
our customers is our top priority,” said Mike Innocenzo, senior
vice president and COO. “Our ongoing investments are paying off for
our customers, as they continue to see better and more reliable
service. We are committed to continuing this positive trend,
delivering the reliable service our customers expect.”
Specifically, during the last three months of 2016, PECO
completed nearly 200 projects to enhance electric reliability for
customers, including 13 System 2020 projects. This work is in
addition to 420 projects completed during the first three quarters
of 2016, totaling nearly 617 projects.
PECO continued to upgrade and install advanced equipment
throughout the region, adding 57 new aerial devices called
reclosers to its distribution system. When a problem occurs, like a
fallen tree limb, lightning strike or vehicle accident, the
recloser stops the flow of electricity on the line and
automatically restores electricity where possible. There are more
than 1,700 reclosers on PECO’s system, which prevented more than
500,000 sustained power interruptions for PECO customers in
2016.
To help prevent power outages caused by vegetation, PECO also
installs reinforced tree-resistant aerial electric lines. These
lines are stronger than traditional lines and can better withstand
falling trees and tree limbs. PECO now has more than 33 miles
installed across the service territory. Rigorous tree trimming also
continues to limit the number of power outages caused by trees and
other vegetation. As part of this work, PECO invested about $41
million in vegetation management work around 3,300 miles of aerial
electric lines in 2016.
The company also completed more than 1,425 projects to ensure
safe and reliable natural gas service for customers. This includes
equipment inspections, repairs and replacements, and preventive
maintenance on the company’s natural gas transmission and
distribution system. In 2016, PECO inspected 2,784 miles of natural
gas main, completed more than 10,200 valve inspections and replaced
more than 127,000 feet of natural gas main with new pipe, which
enhances safety, is more durable and improves service.
PECO, founded in 1881, is Pennsylvania’s largest electric and
natural gas utility. Headquartered in Philadelphia, PECO delivers
energy to more than 1.6 million electric customers and more than
516,000 natural gas customers in southeastern, Pennsylvania. The
company’s 2,500 employees are dedicated to the safe and reliable
delivery of electricity and natural gas as well as enhanced energy
management conservation, environmental stewardship and community
assistance. The company also has an estimated annual economic
impact of $4.3 billion in Pennsylvania, supporting more than 8,700
local jobs and producing $732 million in labor income. PECO is a
subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's only
Fortune 100 utility and leading competitive energy provider. For
more information visit PECO.com, and connect with the company on
Facebook and Twitter.
If you are a member of the media and would like to receive
PECO news releases via email, please send your email address to
PECO.Communication@exeloncorp.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170407005431/en/
PECOGreg Smore215-841-5555Greg.Smore@exeloncorp.com
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