FirstEnergy Corp. has completed another energy infrastructure project to support Appalachian shale operations, saying this week that it has energized a $98 million transmission line in Harrison and Doddridge counties, WV.

Crews placed the 138-kilovolt line in service last month. It connects a transmission substation in Clarksburg, WV, to one near Sherwood, WV, where MarkWest Energy Partners LP operates its Sherwood Processing Facility in Doddridge County. FirstEnergy completed the Sherwood substation in 2014 for $56 million to support the electricity needs of the processing plant.

The new $98 million transmission line is supported by 80 steel structures and runs along an 18-mile corridor that links the substations. In addition to enhancing service reliability for MarkWest, the line helps support electricity demand from nearly 13,000 Mon Power customers.

Mon Power is one of FirstEnergy’s 10 electric distribution companies operating across six states. It serves about 385,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties. FirstEnergy has spent millions in recent years to expand electric infrastructure to serve shale development, announcing and completing projects in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The company announced in October that it was starting work on a $40 million project in Western Pennsylvania to support two natural gas processing plants there.

“As West Virginia’s prominent shale gas industry continues its upward trajectory, FirstEnergy works diligently to keep pace with infrastructure enhancements such as this new transmission line,” said FirstEnergy’s President of West Virginia Operations Holly Kauffman. “We are committed to supporting this important growth industry that consumes significant amounts of electricity to run compressor stations and midstream gas processing plants.”