Met-Ed said that its new substation in South Annville Township is expected to be completed in early 2025.
The substation is the last step before a 1-million-square-foot DHL warehouse in Annville is ready for occupants.
Read More: Met-Ed substation at Annville logistics park expected to be ready by end of year
John Hawkins, president of Met-Ed parent company First Energy, said in a statement that “the new substation will provide the critical infrastructure necessary to energize an enormous shipping hub in the busy motor freight corridor encompassing Interstates 78 and 81 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.”
The substation will also provide operational flexibility to the local electrical grid, Hawkins said. Met-Ed said that new distribution lines will link the substation to the grid and improve reliability for more than 2,100 customers in Annville Township, South Annville Township, and Palmyra Borough.
Met-Ed serves approximately 592,000 customers in eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania, with more than 60,000 customers in Lebanon County.
Met-Ed crews have already installed steel structures, circuit breakers, electrical cables, and other substation equipment. A 13.5-feet tall by 20-feet wide, 50-ton transformer, described as the “heart of the substation,” is expected to be delivered this month.
The DHL warehouse, the first of three in an overall 3 million square feet of space approved for DHL’s Clear Spring Logistics Park, had originally been scheduled for completion in June.
Read More: Lebanon County gaining traction as key freight corridor for movement of goods
A roundabout once earmarked for Route 934 and Clear Spring Road to support the flow of traffic from the DHL logistics park reached a roadblock in September when Exel withdrew an offer for supplemental construction funds, citing an Aug. 12 decision by North Annville Township supervisors to restrict trailer sizes on Clear Spring Road.
Read More: Route 934 roundabout reaches apparent dead end; PennDOT to retain grant funds
Another facility in the park, EaglePoint, consists of a single 1.1 million-square-foot warehouse that can later be expand to 1.3 million square feet. All 1.1 million square feet remain listed as for lease on the company’s website. The land for the EaglePoint facility was acquired by NorthPoint Development from MFS for just over $12 million in December 2021. NorthPoint Development has previously estimated total costs to be $103 million.
NorthPoint Development did not respond to LebTown emails earlier this fall regarding its own timeline or whether the facility would be poised to open with a tenant following construction of the substation.
Met-Ed said that two short power lines will exit the substation to start, one serving the DHL facility and the other serving the EaglePoint facility. A third short power line may be added in the future.
Met-Ed is also constructing a new 69-kV transmission line to supply the new substation from an existing transmission line, with the transmission line carried by 16 steel poles that stand 45 to 70 feet tall.
The substation project is part of FirstEnergy’s Energize365 project, a multi-year grid evolution program that the company says will see $26 billion invested between 2024 and 2028 for a “smarter, more secure grid” that can handle energy needs growth.
Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.
Free news isn’t cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.
More Top Stories
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
