Electric utility provider FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) is undertaking new transmission projects worth $100 million and assessing the upgrade of additional systems to cater to the shale gas boom in West Virginia’s Marcellus Shale gas industry.
Apart from supporting expansion in the Marcellus Shale gas industry, these investments in transmission projects will also facilitate enhanced electric service reliability for Mon Power customers.
Mon Power is FirstEnergy’s electric distribution company having a presence in 34 West Virginia counties. The company serves a base of about 385,000 customers.
The new gas customer facilities will incorporate high-voltage substations and transmission lines to support projected load growth of approximately 400 megawatt (“MW”) in the coming four years.
FirstEnergy’s new transmission projects include the Waldo Run transmission substation and the 138 kilovolt (“kV”) transmission line in Doddridge County near Sherwood, VA. Also, the 18-mile Oak Mound-Waldo Run transmission project, valued at $55 million, is expected to come online by Dec 2015.
In addition, FirstEnergy is evaluating new transmission facilities in Wetzel County taking into account requests for service from shele gas developers in Mon Power’s territory.
These projects are a part of the company’s planned regulated transmission investments of $250 million, which will cater to increasing electric demand across its service territories. FirstEnergy intends to spend $4.2 billion in the 2014 to 2017 time span to meet rising electric load growth of 1,100 MW .
Zacks Rank
FirstEnergy currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the electric utility space include Black Hills Corporation (BKH) and PG&E Corporation (PCG), sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and Consolidated Edison, Inc. (ED), holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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