FirstEnergy Receives Industry Award for Winter Storm Outage Restoration Efforts

On Jan. 9, several crews and personnel from FirstEnergy's Illuminating Company, Ohio Edison, Penn Power, Penelec, West Penn Power, Met-Ed, Mon Power, Potomac Edison and JCP&L service areas bore the brunt of Winter Storm Finn, which brought strong winds, heavy rain, ice and snow. The tree- and flood-related damage was widespread, consisting of hundreds of broken poles and crossarms, downed power lines, and fallen trees and debris blocking road access.

By Jan. 11, FirstEnergy had restored power to 97% of the 373,000 customers who had lost power due to Winter Storm Finn. That restoration effort was quickly followed by response to Winter Storm Gerri, which began impacting FirstEnergy's service territory on Jan. 12 with severe winds, rain and heavy, wet snow, impacting 192,000 customers.

Following the company's Emergency Response Plan, thousands of FirstEnergy line workers, hazard responders, forestry crews, contractors and safety and support personnel collectively worked more than 422,000 man-hours during the two storms, replacing 927 poles, 625 transformers and about 72 miles of wire.

Wade Smith, President, FirstEnergy Utilities: "I am proud to accept this award on behalf of the dedicated FirstEnergy employees and others who worked safely and tirelessly around the clock during two consecutive severe winter weather events. The high winds and heavy precipitation created immense challenges for our crews as they navigated dangerous conditions to restore service to our customers in the wake of these storms."

EEI presents awards twice annually to member companies for extraordinary power restoration efforts or assistance to other electric companies after service disruptions caused by weather conditions and other natural events. The winners were chosen by a panel of judges following an international nomination process, and the awards were presented during EEI's summer Board of Directors and CEO meeting held in conjunction with EEI 2024.

EEI President and CEO Dan Brouillette: "Ensuring the safety of our customers, communities and crews is our industry's top priority, and I commend FirstEnergy's commitment to restoring service for its customers safely and efficiently under challenging conditions following Winter Storms Finn and Gerri. FirstEnergy and its storm response team are extremely deserving of this national recognition, and I am honored to present them with this well-earned recovery award."

FirstEnergy and its electric companies were also recognized in June 2023 for storm restoration efforts that took place in March 2023.

EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. 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 U.S. members, EEI has more than 65 international electric companies, with operations in more than 90 countries, as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 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 approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on X, formerly known as Twitter, @FirstEnergyCorp or online at firstenergycorp.com. 

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.