JCP&L Partners with IBEW Local 102 to Enhance Response to Storms and Other Major Events
First Utility in New Jersey to Use Local Electrical Union
MORRISTOWN, N.J., Aug. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) announced today that it is the first utility in New Jersey to partner with a local electrical trade union to provide damage assessment and public safety resources to help speed the service restoration process following a severe storm or other major event.
Known as the JCP&L-IBEW Local 102 Emergency Response Team, the initiative will include International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 102 members who will be available for dispatch following major storms to protect the public from downed wires and other hazards. In addition, the innovative program will enable Local 102 members to supplement JCP&L's existing personnel by helping to assess damage to company equipment.
In September, a formalized training program will begin and is designed to incorporate participating Local 102 members into JCP&L's storm restoration process. Ultimately, it is expected about 400 members of Local 102 will begin classroom instruction and field training at a JCP&L facility in Phillipsburg. This new process also will provide JCP&L additional operational flexibility with its own workforce during severe storms or major events.
"Because many of the IBEW Local 102 members live and work in our service area, they can use their extensive local knowledge and would be available to be dispatched quickly during severe weather to help identify hazards, provide detailed damage assessments, and protect the public from downed wires, which frees up our crews to do major restoration work," said Jim Fakult, JCP&L president. "This partnership will serve to supplement JCP&L's dedicated workforce. Ultimately, our customers will benefit from this unique Emergency Response Team because the more personnel we have working during a storm, the faster we can get the lights back on."
In addition to helping assess damage and protect the public, Local 102 members may also be able to address other electric-related work, such as repairing damaged connections on a customer's house, hooking up generators and helping at water distribution and power charging stations.
"Our members are pleased to join JCP&L employees in being available to assess damage and help protect the public during a major weather event," said Bernie Corrigan, IBEW Local 102 president. "It is a natural fit since our members have talents and skills that can benefit JCP&L customers when they need help the most. We also appreciate JCP&L's willingness to offer additional opportunities to our members through programs such as this one."
As part of their day-to-day work activities, IBEW Local 102 members perform a variety of residential and commercial electrical contracting services throughout Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Hunterdon, Essex, Passaic, Warren and Union counties.
JCP&L also is working with other IBEW locals in New Jersey to determine if additional electrical workers can be utilized throughout the company's 13-county service territory.
JCP&L is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE). JCP&L serves 1.1 million New Jersey customers in the counties of Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren. Follow JCP&L on Twitter @JCP_L, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JCPandL, or online at www.jcp-l.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. 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, in general, and the retail sales market in particular, the impact of the regulatory process on the pending matters before FERC and in the various states in which we do business including, but not limited to, matters related to rates and pending rate cases, the uncertainties of various cost recovery and cost allocation issues resulting from ATSI's realignment into PJM, economic or weather conditions affecting future sales and margins, regulatory outcomes associated with storms, including, but not limited to Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Irene and the October snowstorm of 2011, changing energy, capacity and commodity market prices including, but not limited to, coal, natural gas and oil, and availability and their impact on retail margins, the continued ability of our regulated utilities to recover their costs, operation and maintenance costs being higher than anticipated, and the success of our policies to control costs and to mitigate low energy, capacity and market prices, other legislative and regulatory changes, and revised environmental requirements, including possible GHG emission, water discharge, water intake and coal combustion residual regulations, the potential impacts of CSAPR, CAIR, and/or any laws, rules or regulations that ultimately replace CAIR, and the effects of the EPA's MATS rules including our estimated costs of compliance, the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of the capital expenditures that may arise in connection with any litigation, including NSR litigation or potential regulatory initiatives or rulemakings (including that such expenditures could result in our decision to deactivate or idle certain generating units), the uncertainties associated with the deactivation of certain older regulated and competitive fossil units including the decision to deactivate the Hatfield's Ferry and Mitchell Power Stations, the impact on vendor commitments, and the timing thereof as they relate to, among other things, the RMR arrangements and the reliability of the transmission grid, adverse regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes with respect to our nuclear operations (including, but not limited to the revocation or non-renewal of necessary licenses, approvals or operating permits by the NRC or as a result of the incident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant), adverse legal decisions and outcomes related to ME's and PN's ability to recover certain transmission costs through their TSC riders, the impact of future changes to the operational status or availability of our generating units, the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and like proceedings, including, but not limited to, any such proceedings related to vendor commitments, replacement power costs being higher than anticipated or inadequately hedged, the ability to comply with applicable state and federal reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates, 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, the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic and financial goals including, but not limited to, the ability to reduce costs and to successfully complete our announced financial plans designed to improve our credit metrics and strengthen our balance sheet, including but not limited to, proposed capital raising and debt reduction initiatives, the proposed West Virginia asset transfer and potential sale of non-core hydro assets, our ability to improve electric commodity margins and the impact of, among other factors, the increased cost of fuel and fuel transportation on such margins, the ability to experience growth in the Regulated Distribution segment and to continue to successfully implement our direct retail sales strategy in the Competitive Energy Services segment, changing market conditions that could affect the measurement of liabilities and the value of assets held in our NDTs, pension trusts and other trust funds, and cause us and our subsidiaries to make additional contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger than currently anticipated, the impact of changes to material accounting policies, the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with our announced financial plan, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting us and our subsidiaries, actions that may be taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect us and our subsidiaries' access to financing, increase the costs thereof, and increase requirements to post additional collateral to support outstanding commodity positions, LOCs and other financial guarantees, changes in national and regional economic conditions affecting us, our subsidiaries and our major industrial and commercial customers, and other counterparties including fuel suppliers, with which we do business, 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 SEC filings, and other similar factors. 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FirstEnergy expressly disclaim any current intention to update, except as required by law, any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.
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