Significant industry expertise will help lead
all government relations activities for the company
AKRON,
Ohio, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy
Corp. (NYSE: FE) today announced that Joseph (Joe) McClelland has been named vice
president, External Affairs, effective July
18. McClelland will be responsible for overseeing all
government relations activities for the company, including local,
state and federal affairs, and engaging with policymakers on
legislation that may impact FirstEnergy's customers and operations.
He will report to Sam Belcher,
senior vice president, Operations.
"Joe brings to FirstEnergy nearly forty years of experience in
the energy and electric utility industry, as well as extensive
experience engaging with government agencies and offices at all
levels," said Steven E. Strah,
president and chief executive officer. "As the leader of our
External Affairs function, he will support our efforts to ensure
all of our government relations activities and related stakeholder
engagement are in keeping with our core values and enhanced
policies and procedures. We look forward to benefiting from his
deep insights and expertise."
McClelland most recently served as director of the Office of
Energy Infrastructure Security (OEIS) at the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC). Appointed to this role in
September 2012, McClelland led FERC's
external affairs efforts related to OEIS activities and assisted in
identifying, communicating and seeking comprehensive solutions to
potential risks to FERC-jurisdictional facilities from cyber and
physical security threats.
Prior to directing OEIS, McClelland served as the first director
of FERC's Office of Electric Reliability, which was created in
2007. He joined FERC in 2004 as director of the Division of
Reliability within the Office of Energy Markets and
Reliability.
Before joining FERC, McClelland had more than 20 years of
experience in the electric utility industry. He began his career
with Allegheny Energy Inc. (now part of FirstEnergy), holding a
variety of positions in engineering, marketing, regulation and
rates and project development. Immediately prior to joining FERC,
McClelland was the general manager of the Custer Public Power
District in Broken Bow,
Nebraska.
McClelland earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical
engineering from Pennsylvania State
University.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and
operational excellence. Its ten 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.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes
forward-looking statements 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 completion of the Tender Offer; the potential liabilities,
increased costs and unanticipated developments resulting from
government investigations and agreements, including those
associated with compliance with or failure to comply with the
Deferred Prosecution Agreement entered into on July 21, 2021 with the U.S. Attorney's Office for
the Southern District of Ohio; the
risks and uncertainties associated with government investigations
and audits regarding Ohio House Bill 6, as passed by Ohio's 133rd General Assembly (HB 6) and
related matters, including potential adverse impacts on federal or
state regulatory matters, including, but not limited to, matters
relating to rates; the risks and uncertainties associated with
litigation, arbitration, mediation, and similar proceedings,
particularly regarding HB 6 related matters, including risks
associated with obtaining court approval of the definitive
settlement agreement in the derivative shareholder lawsuits;
weather conditions, such as temperature variations and severe
weather conditions, or other natural disasters affecting future
operating results and associated regulatory actions or outcomes in
response to such conditions; legislative and regulatory
developments, including, but not limited to, matters related to
rates, compliance and enforcement activity, cybersecurity, and
climate change; the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated
benefits from our FE Forward initiative and our other strategic and
financial goals, including, but not limited to, overcoming current
uncertainties and challenges associated with the ongoing government
investigations, executing our transmission and distribution
investment plans, greenhouse gas reduction goals, controlling
costs, improving our credit metrics, growing earnings, and
strengthening our balance sheet; the risks associated with
cyber-attacks and other disruptions to our, or our vendors',
information technology system, which may compromise our operations,
and data security breaches of sensitive data, intellectual property
and proprietary or personally identifiable information; mitigating
exposure for remedial activities associated with retired and
formerly owned electric generation assets; 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
FirstEnergy, including the increasing number of financial
institutions evaluating the impact of climate change on their
investment decisions; the extent and duration of the COVID-19
pandemic and the related impacts to our business, operations and
financial condition resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19
including, but not limited to, disruption of businesses in our
territories, supply chain disruptions, additional costs, workforce
impacts and governmental and regulatory responses to the pandemic,
such as moratoriums on utility disconnections and workforce
vaccination mandates; actions that may be taken by credit rating
agencies that could negatively affect either our access to or terms
of financing or our financial condition and liquidity; changes in
assumptions regarding factors such as economic conditions within
our territories, the reliability of our transmission and
distribution system, or the availability of capital or other
resources supporting identified transmission and distribution
investment opportunities; changes in customers' demand for power,
including, but not limited to, economic conditions, the impact of
climate change, or energy efficiency and peak demand reduction
mandates; changes in national and regional economic conditions,
including recession and inflationary pressure, affecting
FirstEnergy and/or its customers and those vendors with which
FirstEnergy does business; the potential of non-compliance with
debt covenants in our credit facilities; the ability to comply with
applicable reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak
demand reduction mandates; changes to environmental laws and
regulations, including, but not limited to, those related to
climate change; changing market conditions affecting the
measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in
our pension trusts, or causing FirstEnergy to make contributions
sooner, or in amounts that are larger, than currently anticipated;
labor disruptions by our unionized workforce; changes to
significant accounting policies; any changes in tax laws or
regulations, or adverse tax audit results or rulings; and the risks
and other factors discussed from time to time in our Securities and
Exchange Commission filings. These forward-looking statements
are also qualified by, and should be read together with, the risk
factors included in FirstEnergy's filings with the SEC, including,
but not limited to, the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and
any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and 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 FirstEnergy's 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. FirstEnergy expressly disclaims any
obligation to update or revise, except as required by law, any
forward-looking statements contained herein or in the information
incorporated by reference as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.