PECO is holding true to its multi-million dollar effort to strengthen power quality across Philadelphia County.

It recently announced its concrete plan to help Philadelphia County residents prevent customer outages, modernize the electric grid, and reduce the impact of extreme weather on electric infrastructure through the remainder of the year.

Over the next five years, PECO will invest approximately $6 billion across its electric and natural gas systems to inspect equipment, complete targeted infrastructure enhancements and corrective maintenance, invest in new equipment, and perform vegetation management work. 

Some of the electric reliability projects across Philadelphia Country include:

• Investing more than $14 million to enhance the local electric distribution system on Oregon Ave. by upgrading poles, aerial wires and installation of new underground transmission lines that spans 3.1 miles.
• Investing more than $48 million to enhance the local electric distribution system near Mall/Lombard by upgrading poles and aerial wires to carry heavier loads to meet customers’ electric needs.
• Investing more than $13.8 million to enhance the local electric distribution system in the area that services University City, replacing underground electric cables and pad-mount transformers
• Undergoing reconfigurations and upgrades near the Callowhill Substation to improve reliability for nearby customers, such as the Philadelphia Convention Center and the Chinatown community

To further enhance reliability and maintain power to customers, PECO actively installed specialized equipment, known as reclosers, that can automatically restore service or isolate damage.

“Our customers are the focus of everything we do, which is why we’re prioritizing this strategic investment plan to ensure safe and reliable service to better withstand extreme weather and pave the way for clean energy resources,” said Brian Crowe, PECO’s Vice President of Technical Services, in a press release.

In 2021 alone, 269 re-closers were installed in the region, increasing the total throughout the system to 3,250. 

During the past five years, these re-closers have avoided approximately 4.6 million power interruptions for customers. 

“Modernizing our energy infrastructure is critical to meeting the needs for thousands of residential and business customers across Philadelphia County,” added Crowe.

Enhancing energy infrastructure to make it more resilient in the face of intensifying weather patterns, while supporting more clean energy resources is one of the key elements of PECO's Path to Clean.

A major goal of the Path to Clean initiative is to reduce operations-driven emissions by 50% by 2030, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

In addition to reliability-focused infrastructure investments, PECO is also committed to helping customers by providing a multitude of programs to manage their energy costs and save money. 

In Philadelphia County specifically, PECO has facilitated upwards of 113,000 enrollments across its suite of programs, totaling more than $65 million in financial assistance in 2021.