LAKEWOOD, Ohio — After years of repeat power outages, Lakewood residents and business owners are now beginning to get a clearer picture of what it could take to finally fix the problem.
Lakewood City Councilman Tom Bullock says FirstEnergy CEO Brian Tierney told him during a recent event that the city’s aging electric distribution grid ultimately needs to be replaced altogether.
In a Facebook post, Bullock revealed that he questioned Tierney during a Crain’s Cleveland Business breakfast forum.
He pressed the CEO about the repeated outages that have impacted Lakewood during periods of summer heat.
Bullock said he told Tierney that Lakewood has experienced outages during heat waves — not necessarily storms — as demand for electricity rises and residents rely on air conditioning.
The issue has become a major back and forth issue between Lakewood and FirstEnergy.
In July, the city said FirstEnergy’s aging equipment and infrastructure were responsible for prolonged outages.
Bullock said the CEO's assessment was "blunt".
He was told the Lakewood grid is "very old" and needs significant replacement.
According to Bullock, the CEO indicated that a complete overhaul could cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take seven to nine years for the largest projects.
Bullock said while this news was a bit shocking, he was encouraged that FirstEnergy’s top executive directly addressed the condition of the system.
“Things don’t work as well as they used to and they have been being patched for way too long,” Bullock said. “The frustration is that we have already paid for the grid updates that we don’t have.”
Lakewood has been pushing for stronger action from FirstEnergy and state regulators following repeated outages.
In August, PUCO proposed more than $3 million in penalties and other corrective actions against FirstEnergy after finding probable noncompliance related to the company’s service in Lakewood. FirstEnergy's deadline to respond is Friday.
The city has also encouraged residents to document outages and file complaints with PUCO.
FirstEnergy has already made some infrastructure investments in the area.
Bullock said the conversation with FirstEnergy’s CEO does not mean the problem is solved, but he says he believes it shows that the company’s top leadership is now focused on Lakewood’s reliability problems.
He said the city will continue pressing FirstEnergy and state regulators for immediate improvements while also pushing for the larger infrastructure replacement work.
News 5 is working to get a response from FirstEnergy regarding the isssue.
