FirstEnergy Receives Industry Recognition for Outage Restoration Efforts Following Widespread Severe Thunderstorms

AKRON, Ohio, Jan. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 13^th consecutive year, FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) has earned recognition for its emergency response efforts from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), a leading electric industry organization.  The company earned the "Emergency Recovery Award" for efforts to restore service to nearly 470,000 of its Pennsylvania and New Jersey customers following severe thunderstorms that impacted the region in May 2018. 

The storms brought nearly 36 hours of sustained high winds with gusts exceeding 60 mph to FirstEnergy's service territory along with damaging tornadoes and 100 mph straight-line winds.  Nearly 6,000 lineworkers, hazard responders, damage assessors and other support staff from FirstEnergy and assisting utilities worked together to replace more than 400 utility poles, 300 transformers, four transmission towers and approximately 23 miles of wire. 

"The dedication of FirstEnergy's crews to restoring service throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey after a series of thunderstorms illustrates our industry's commitment to customers," said EEI President Tom Kuhn. "FirstEnergy's crews worked tirelessly in hazardous conditions to quickly and safely restore power. They are truly deserving of this award."

"The EEI award is a special honor for the men and women who work around the clock in trying conditions to restore power when severe weather impacts our customers,"  said Sam Belcher, senior vice president of FirstEnergy and president of FirstEnergy Utilities.  "I'm very proud of our crews, who teamed to complete repairs safely and efficiently despite extra challenges created by the widespread and rural nature of the areas damaged by these storms."

EEI presents awards twice annually to member companies to recognize extraordinary efforts to restore power or for assisting other electric companies after service disruptions caused by weather conditions and other natural events.  Winners are chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process.  The awards were presented January 10, 2019, during the winter EEI Board of Directors and CEO meeting in Florida.

EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide electricity for 220 million Americans, and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a whole, the electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than 65 international electric companies as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence.  Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York.  The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.  Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com.  Follow FirstEnergy and its utilities on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp, @ToledoEdison, @IlluminatingCo, @OhioEdison, @MonPowerWV, @JCP_L, @Penn_Power, @Penelec, @Met_Ed, @PotomacEdison, @W_Penn_Power.

Editor's Note:  A photo of FirstEnergy Senior Vice President and President of FirstEnergy Utilities Sam Belcher accepting the emergency response award from EEI is available for download on Flickr.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.