Construction Begins on New FirstEnergy Service Center

NORTH JACKSON, Ohio – American Transmission Systems Inc., a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., recently broke ground on a new operations service center here to help streamline operations and maximize efficiencies along the local high-voltage power system, the company announced Tuesday.

The nearly 20,000-square-foot facility, located within Ohio Edison’s service area, will provide company personnel with direct access to heavy-duty transmission equipment and materials to help enhance electric service reliability and minimize the impact of service disruptions for customers in the area.

“This facility will benefit customers by providing quicker access to resources for our transmission personnel in the event of a service-related issue,” said Jim Gatto, manager of Ohio’s transmission operations at FirstEnergy. “Transmission personnel were previously scattered at various service centers across our entire northeast Ohio service area, causing a slower response to issues in the North Jackson area since crews were coming from work sites in Kinsman, Alliance and Massillon.”

When finished, the building will serve as a central location for nearly a dozen transmission line workers based in the Mahoning Valley. The new center, situated on 10 acres along Bailey Court East, will also include offices and storage space for other utility personnel.

In addition to the service center, the project includes construction of a 15,000-square-foot storage facility that will be used to house large transmission equipment, including transformers, power lines, insulators and more. Both facilities are on track to be completed in late spring.

ATSI provides transmission services in Ohio and in the western portion of Pennsylvania and owns or maintains more than 8,100 miles of transmission lines, substations and other facilities.

Pictured at top: An artist’s rendering of FirstEnergy’s operations service center in North Jackson.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.