FirstEnergy Holds 2011 Annual Meeting

AKRON, Ohio, May 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony J. Alexander told the audience at today's Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Akron, Ohio, that FirstEnergy is an industry leader that is well positioned to expand its competitive business, achieve its financial objectives, and meet the challenges that lie ahead.

Alexander said the merger with Allegheny Energy increased FirstEnergy's utility customer base by 35 percent and its generating resources by 70 percent.  FirstEnergy is now the largest electric utility in the United States based on customers served, the largest owner of transmission assets in its region, and one of the largest owners of competitive generation in the nation.  

"We are truly a different company today, with far more resources and competitive generation.  And competitive generation is the real game-changer," Alexander said.  "Since June 1, 2009, when competitive markets opened in Ohio, our retail sales have grown from about 13,000 accounts to more than one and a half million customers," he said.  

FirstEnergy Solutions, the company's competitive subsidiary, is now one of the largest retail suppliers of electricity in the nation, Alexander said.

"While I'm very pleased with our results so far, I expect substantial additional growth as we continue to make our generating fleet more productive and use the competitive generation we acquired through the merger to pursue new customers and expand our markets," he said.

"Without question, competition is working for our company, our customers and our shareholders.  It's made us a better company – more efficient and more customer-focused.  And customers are benefiting from more reliable service, lower prices for electric generation, and lower emissions from our power plants.

"I'm proud of what we've accomplished in the last few years," he said. "And our employees have the talent, expertise and creativity to help us succeed in the future."

At the meeting, FirstEnergy shareholders reelected 13 members to its Board of Directors and voted on other company and shareholder proposals.  All of the preliminary voting results are subject to final certification.

The following directors were reelected to one-year terms: Alexander; Paul T. Addison, retired, formerly managing director of Salomon Smith Barney (Citigroup); Michael J. Anderson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Andersons, Inc.; Dr. Carol A. Cartwright, president of Bowling Green State University; William T. Cottle, retired, formerly chairman, president and chief executive officer of STP Nuclear Operating Company; Robert B. Heisler, Jr., dean of the College of Business Administration and Graduate School of Management of Kent State University, formerly chairman of KeyBank N.A.; Julia L. Johnson, president of NetCommunications, LLC; Ted J. Kleisner, chief executive officer of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company; Ernest J. Novak, Jr., retired, formerly managing partner of the Cleveland office of Ernst & Young LLP; Catherine A. Rein, retired, formerly senior executive vice president and chief administrative officer of MetLife Inc.; George M. Smart, non-executive chairman of the FirstEnergy Board of Directors and retired, formerly president of Sonoco-Phoenix, Inc.; Wes M. Taylor, retired, formerly president of TXU Generation; and Jesse T. Williams, Sr., retired, formerly vice president of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.  

In other business, shareholders ratified the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm, approved an advisory vote on executive compensation, and voted to hold "Say on Pay" advisory votes every year. Shareholders also approved a management proposal to reduce the number of shares required to call a special shareholder meeting.  

Four non-binding shareholder proposals were considered at the meeting.  Proposals to prepare a report on coal combustion waste; lower the percentage required for shareholder action by written consent; adopt a majority vote standard for the election of directors; and prepare a report on the company's reliance on coal, each failed to receive a majority of votes cast.  

FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence.  Its ten electric distribution companies comprise the nation's largest investor-owned electric system.  Its diverse generating fleet features non-emitting nuclear, scrubbed baseload coal, natural gas, and pumped-storage hydro and other renewables, and has a total generating capacity of approximately 23,000 megawatts

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. 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," "believe," "estimate" 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. Actual results may differ materially due to: the speed and nature of increased competition in the electric utility industry, the impact of the regulatory process on the pending matters in the various states in which we do business including, but not limited to, matters related to rates, the status of the PATH project in light of PJM's direction to suspend work on the project pending review of its planning process, its re-evaluation of the need for the project and the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of any related capital expenditures, business and regulatory impacts from ATSI's realignment into PJM Interconnection, L.L.C, economic or weather conditions affecting future sales and margins, changes in markets for energy services, changing energy and commodity market prices and availability, financial derivative reforms that could increase our liquidity needs and collateral costs, replacement power costs being higher than anticipated or inadequately hedged, the continued ability of FirstEnergy's regulated utilities to collect transition and other costs, operation and maintenance costs being higher than anticipated, other legislative and regulatory changes, and revised environmental requirements, including possible GHG emission, water intake and coal combustion residual regulations, the potential impacts of any laws, rules or regulations that ultimately replace CAIR and the effects of the EPA's recently released MACT proposal to establish certain mercury and other emission standards for electric generating units, the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of the capital expenditures that may arise in connection with any NSR litigation or potential regulatory initiatives or rulemakings (including that such expenditures could result in our decision to shut down or idle certain generating units), adverse regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes (including, but not limited to, the revocation of necessary licenses or operating permits) and oversight by the NRC, including as a result of the incident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, adverse legal decisions and outcomes related to Met-Ed's and Penelec's transmission service charge appeal at the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, the continuing availability of generating units and changes in their ability to operate at or near full capacity, the ability to comply with applicable state and federal reliability standards and energy efficiency mandates, changes in customers' demand for power, including but not limited to, changes resulting from the implementation of state and federal energy efficiency mandates, the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic goals, efforts, and our ability, to improve electric commodity margins and the impact of, among other factors, the increased cost of coal and coal transportation on such margins, the ability to experience growth in the distribution business, the changing market conditions that could affect the value of assets held in FirstEnergy's nuclear decommissioning trusts, pension trusts and other trust funds, and cause FirstEnergy to make additional contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger than currently anticipated, the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with FirstEnergy's financing plan, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting FirstEnergy and its subsidiaries, changes in general economic conditions affecting FirstEnergy and its subsidiaries, interest rates and any actions taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect FirstEnergy's and its subsidiaries' access to financing or their costs and increase requirements to post additional collateral to support outstanding commodity positions, LOCs and other financial guarantees, the continuing uncertainty of the national and regional economy and its impact on the major industrial and commercial customers of FirstEnergy's subsidiaries, issues concerning the soundness of financial institutions and counterparties with which FirstEnergy and its subsidiaries do business, issues arising from the recently completed merger of FirstEnergy and Allegheny Energy, Inc. and the ongoing coordination of their combined operations including FirstEnergy's ability to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers, as well as the ability to successfully integrate the businesses and realize cost savings and any other synergies and the risk that the credit ratings of the combined company or its subsidiaries may be different from what the companies expect, the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in FirstEnergy's and its applicable subsidiaries' SEC filings, and other similar factors. Dividends declared from time to time on FirstEnergy's common stock during any annual period may in aggregate vary from the indicated amount due to circumstances considered by FirstEnergy's Board of Directors at the time of the actual declarations. The foregoing review of factors 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 current intention to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.