AKRON, Ohio, July 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy
Corp. (NYSE: FE) announced today that its Energizing the
Future investment initiative is driving significant performance
improvement in the company's electric transmission
system. The program is aimed at modernizing the "electric
superhighway" of the power grid, which carries energy across
FirstEnergy's territory, often over long distances.
Since launching Energizing the Future in 2014,
FirstEnergy has achieved a 37 percent reduction in
equipment-related outages in its American Transmission Systems,
Inc. (ATSI) zone, which includes high-voltage lines and substations
serving the company's Ohio Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating
and Toledo Edison utilities in Ohio, as well as Penn Power customers in
western Pennsylvania.
FirstEnergy and its transmission companies expect to achieve
similar results as the program expands eastward into the Met-Ed and
Penelec service areas in Pennsylvania. A FirstEnergy transmission
affiliate, Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission, LLC (MAIT), will
build and own these facilities. FirstEnergy expects to invest
more than $1 billion per year on
transmission upgrades from 2018-2021.
"Energizing the Future is an essential part of our
efforts to ensure customers benefit from a smarter, stronger and
more secure power grid in the years ahead," said Carl Bridenbaugh, vice president, Transmission.
"A robust transmission system – along with a modern,
resilient distribution grid – is necessary to keep power flowing to
customers around the clock and to mitigate the risk of a larger,
extended outage."
Since 2014, FirstEnergy has completed 600-700 transmission
projects per year focused on three areas of investment:
- Upgrading or replacing aging infrastructure – such as circuit
breakers, transformers and deteriorating poles or towers – to
harden the company's transmission facilities against severe
weather, reduce outages and cut maintenance costs
- Enhancing performance by building a smarter, more secure
transmission system
- Adding operational flexibility that allows grid operators to
more swiftly react to changing grid conditions and a changing
energy supply mix
"The majority of the U.S. electric transmission system was built
in the 1960s and 1970s, and significant upgrades are needed now and
in the years ahead to modernize the system and enhance
performance," Bridenbaugh said. "In the last few years, we've
replaced or rebuilt more than 1,200 miles of transmission lines
across our territory, and we have a rigorous process in place to
identify projects that can reduce transmission outages and enhance
reliability for customers."
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 on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at
www.firstenergycorp.com.
Editor's Note: Photos are available for
download on Flickr.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on information
currently available to management. Such statements are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These
statements include declarations regarding management's intents,
beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically
contain, but are not limited to, the terms "anticipate,"
"potential," "expect," "forecast," "target," "will," "intend,"
"believe," "project," "estimate," "plan" and similar words.
Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, which may
include the following: the ability to successfully execute an
exit of commodity-based generation that minimizes cash outflows and
associated liabilities, including, without limitation, the losses,
guarantees, claims and other obligations of FirstEnergy Corp.,
together with its consolidated subsidiaries (FirstEnergy) as such
relate to the entities previously consolidated into FirstEnergy,
including FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.(FES), its subsidiaries and
FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC), which have recently
filed for bankruptcy protection; the potential for litigation and
demands for payment against FirstEnergy by FES and FENOC or certain
of their creditors; the risks associated with the bankruptcy cases
of FES, its subsidiaries and FENOC, including, but not limited to,
third-party motions in the cases that could adversely affect
FirstEnergy, its liquidity or results of operations; the ability to
experience growth in the Regulated Distribution and Regulated
Transmission segments and the effectiveness of our strategy to
operate as a fully regulated business; the accomplishment of our
regulatory and operational goals in connection with our
transmission and distribution investment plans, including, but not
limited to, our planned transition to forward-looking formula
rates; changes in assumptions regarding economic conditions within
our territories, assessment of the reliability of our transmission
and distribution system, or the availability of capital or other
resources supporting identified transmission and distribution
investment opportunities; the ability to accomplish or realize
anticipated benefits from strategic and financial goals, including,
but not limited to, the ability to grow earnings in our regulated
businesses, continue to reduce costs and to successfully execute
our financial plans designed to improve our credit metrics and
strengthen our balance sheet; the risks and uncertainties
associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and like
proceedings; the uncertainties associated with the deactivation of
our remaining commodity-based generating units, including the
impact on vendor commitments, and as it relates to the reliability
of the transmission grid, the timing thereof; costs being higher
than anticipated and the success of our policies to control costs;
the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of the capital
expenditures that may arise in connection with any litigation,
including New Source Review litigation, or potential regulatory
initiatives or rulemakings; changes in customers' demand for power,
including, but not limited to, changes resulting from the
implementation of state and federal energy efficiency and peak
demand reduction mandates; economic and weather conditions
affecting future sales, margins and operations, such as significant
weather events, and all associated regulatory events or actions;
changes in national and regional economic conditions affecting
FirstEnergy and/or our major industrial and commercial customers,
and other counterparties with which we do business; the impact of
labor disruptions by our unionized workforce; the risks associated
with cyber-attacks and other disruptions to our information
technology system that may compromise our generation, transmission
and/or distribution services and data security breaches of
sensitive data, intellectual property and proprietary or personally
identifiable information regarding our business, employees,
shareholders, customers, suppliers, business partners and other
individuals in our data centers and on our networks; the impact of
the regulatory process and resulting outcomes on the matters at the
federal level and in the various states in which we do business,
including, but not limited to, matters related to rates; the impact
of the federal regulatory process on Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) regulated entities and transactions, in
particular FERC regulation of PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.
(PJM) wholesale energy and capacity markets and
cost-of-service rates, as well as FERC's compliance and enforcement
activity, including compliance and enforcement activity related to
North American Electric Reliability Corporation's mandatory
reliability standards; the uncertainties of various cost recovery
and cost allocation issues resulting from American Transmission
Systems, Incorporated's realignment into PJM; the ability to comply
with applicable state and federal reliability standards and energy
efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; other legislative
and regulatory changes, including the federal administration's
required review and potential revision of environmental
requirements, including, but not limited to, the effects of the
United States Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan,
Coal Combustion Residuals, Cross-State Air Pollution Rule and
Mercury and Air Toxics Standards programs, including our estimated
costs of compliance, Clean Water Act (CWA) waste water effluent
limitations for power plants, and CWA 316(b) water intake
regulation; changing market conditions that could affect the
measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in
our pension trusts and other trust funds, and cause us and/or our
subsidiaries to make additional contributions sooner, or in amounts
that are larger, than currently anticipated; the impact of changes
to significant accounting policies; the impact of any changes in
tax laws or regulations, including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,
adopted December 22, 2017, or adverse
tax audit results or rulings; the ability to access the public
securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with
our financial plans, the cost of such capital and overall condition
of the capital and credit markets affecting us and our
subsidiaries; further actions that may be taken by credit rating
agencies that could negatively affect us and/or our subsidiaries'
access to financing, increase the costs thereof, letters of credit
and other financial guarantees, and the impact of these events on
the financial condition and liquidity of FirstEnergy Corp. and/or
its subsidiaries; issues concerning the stability of domestic and
foreign financial institutions and counterparties with which we do
business; and the risks and other factors discussed from time to
time in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
filings, and other similar factors. Dividends declared from time to
time on FirstEnergy Corp.'s common stock, and thereby on
FirstEnergy Corp.'s preferred stock, during any period may in the
aggregate vary from prior periods due to circumstances considered
by FirstEnergy Corp.'s Board of Directors at the time of the actual
declarations. A security rating is not a recommendation to buy or
hold securities and is subject to revision or withdrawal at any
time by the assigning rating agency. Each rating should be
evaluated independently of any other rating. These forward-looking
statements are also qualified by, and should be read together with,
the risk factors included in our filings with the SEC, including
but not limited to the most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q,
which such risk factors supersede the risk factors contained in the
Annual Report on Form 10-K, and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. The foregoing review of
factors also should not be construed as exhaustive. New factors
emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to
predict all such factors, nor assess the impact of any such factor
on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination
of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those
contained in any forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim
any obligation to update or revise, except as required by law, any
forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.