USA, Pennsylvania: PPL Electric Utilities has confirmed that growing demand from data centres is driving a major transmission expansion project in Lackawanna County, with new lines, switchyards and a substation planned to support the Archbald area.

At a recent open house in Scott Township, company officials said the project will supply electricity to several proposed data centre campuses while also improving reliability for residential customers.

Doug Grossman, PPL’s manager of transmission siting, said the utility must serve both existing and future users, from households to large-scale data centres. He also noted that planning is done independently of local approval timelines, although developers must notify the utility if projects are cancelled.

The proposed infrastructure is linked to multiple data centre developments in the Archbald area, including large industrial campuses and multi-building facilities. Some projects are still under local review or conditional approval processes.

Residents at the meeting raised concerns about transparency and community impact, with many expressing frustration over limited access and uncertainty about the developments.

Officials confirmed that a key driver of the expansion is a rise in high-load demand from data centres, which require continuous, large-scale power supply.

A 132 kV gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) system is part of the wider transmission network involved in the region’s power supply. A recent fault in similar high-voltage equipment highlighted how critical switchgear performance is to system stability.

PPL said large-load customers will fund much of the new infrastructure, and the project could ultimately improve system flexibility and potentially reduce transmission costs for customers.

If approved, construction could be completed by 2029 or early 2030.

Source: WVIA

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