PHILADELPHIA – Beginning next week, PECO will be working on one of its electric transmission lines in York County as part of system improvements in the local area.

Using ground crews and a helicopter, PECO will be replacing the lightning protection wires (static wires) with new fiber optic lines along the high-voltage transmission line that run near Lay Road from the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant to the Maryland state line, just north of Whiteford Road, where PECO connects with BG&E.

The fiber optics will support upgrades of digital protection systems for electric reliability. This work will occur during the month of March with the helicopter support scheduled for March 1, 2, 25 and 26 and will be performed by Haverfield Aviation.

This work will also be supporting construction activities during March at PECO's new Cooper electric substation, a $9.7 million project scheduled for completion this fall.

The new substation, located at the intersection of Lay and Flintville Roads in Peach Bottom Township, will boost electric distribution capacity, relieve load on the local electric distribution circuit, and improve service reliability for the area. The substation project involves high-voltage circuit breakers, a transformer that converts 230-kilovolts to 34-kilovolts, and construction of two new distribution circuits that will serving the local area.

The project is part of PECO's $500 million capital investment plan for its electric and gas delivery systems in southeastern Pennsylvania.