Fifty million dollars in federal funding is headed to FirstEnergy to support grid and transmission upgrades across West Virginia, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito announced Friday.
The funding will impact more than 50,000 customers and 450 "critical facilities" such as schools and hospitals, Capito said.
The project also will involve the creation of a four-year apprenticeship program with a training center in Fairmont, Capito said.
“West Virginians deserve reliable access to electricity that keeps their lights on and homes warm. Initiatives like this strengthen the reliability of our grid and prevent our residents from experiencing costly interruptions that impact their lives and safety," said Capito, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
"Additionally, this project will simultaneously invest in economic development and the next generation of our workforce through the creation of an apprenticeship program based in Fairmont," Capito said.
Funding is from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program.
"This is the kind of difference I knew the [Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act] could make as I helped craft the legislation, and we must continue to strengthen grid reliability and baseload power generation in our country moving forward,” Capito said.