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READING, Pa., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Support for Pennsylvania's
new energy law, including development of appropriate efficiency and
demand-side management programs and the importance of coordination among state
agencies to implement these programs, were just some of the ideas presented by
FirstEnergy's (NYSE: FE) John E. Paganie, vice president of Energy Efficiency,
when he testified today at a special hearing of the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission (PUC). He testified on behalf of FirstEnergy's three
Pennsylvania operating companies -- Pennsylvania Power Co. (Penn Power),
Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec), and Metropolitan Edison Company (Met-
Ed) -- which serve 1.3 million customers in the Commonwealth.
"We look forward to working with the PUC in our effort to achieve Act
129's aggressive energy efficiency and demand targets in a cost effective
manner, while maintaining the financial integrity of our electric companies in
Pennsylvania," said Paganie.
Paganie says FirstEnergy currently offers customers a number of energy
efficiency, conservation, and demand side response programs to help them get
more from their energy dollars, and encourage the smart use of electricity.
However, the scope and effectiveness of these existing programs have been
limited because the long-standing generation rate caps at Penelec and Met-Ed
have reduced the customers' motivation to conserve.
Currently, FirstEnergy's Pennsylvania customers pay electricity rates
below the national average -- and when adjusted for inflation, customers are
paying less for electricity today than they did in much of the previous
decade.
Paganie added that true market price signals will be needed to change
customer usage habits. However, these pricing signals will not be in effect
for Met-Ed and Penelec until January 1, 2011, only five months before the
aggressive reductions in electricity usage called for in Act 129 must be
achieved.
To help overcome the challenges inherent in Act 129's ambitious compliance
schedule, Paganie suggested the PUC focus its efforts in three key areas:
-- Adoption of a timely, flexible and effective process to review and
approve the energy efficiency and conservation plans proposed by the state's
electric distribution companies, along with full and current cost recovery.
The sooner the programs start, the more likely the required targets will be
achieved.
-- Ensure any new programs are coordinated with existing energy efficiency
programs now offered by other Pennsylvania state agencies, including the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Public
Welfare, the Treasury Department and the Department of Community and Economic
Development.
-- Increase education efforts to help achieve a meaningful and measurable
shift in customer behavior. Education should be an essential part of future
efforts to help consumers better manage their electricity use and costs.
Together, Penn Power, Penelec and Met-Ed serve approximately 1.3 million
customers in 49 of 67 counties, covering nearly half the land area of
Pennsylvania.
FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company headquartered in Akron, Ohio.
Its subsidiaries and affiliates are involved in the generation, transmission
and distribution of electricity, as well as energy management and other
energy-related services. Its seven electric utility operating companies
comprise the nation's fifth largest investor-owned electric system, based on
4.5 million customers served within a 36,100-square-mile area of Ohio,
Pennsylvania and New Jersey; and its generation subsidiaries control more than
14,000 megawatts of capacity.
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 and
legislative and regulatory changes affecting how generation rates will be
determined following the expiration of existing rate plans in Ohio and
Pennsylvania, the impact of the PUCO's rulemaking process on the Ohio
Companies' Electric Security Plan and Market Rate Offer filings, economic or
weather conditions affecting future sales and margins, changes in markets for
energy services, changing energy and commodity market prices and availability,
replacement power costs being higher than anticipated or inadequately hedged,
the continued ability of FirstEnergy's regulated utilities to collect
transition and other charges or to recover increased transmission costs,
maintenance costs being higher than anticipated, other legislative and
regulatory changes, revised environmental requirements, including possible
greenhouse gas emission regulations, the impact of the U.S. Court of Appeals'
July 11, 2008 decision to vacate the CAIR rules and the scope of any laws,
rules or regulations that may ultimately take their place, the uncertainty of
the timing and amounts of the capital expenditures needed to, among other
things, implement the Air Quality Compliance Plan (including that such amounts
could be higher than anticipated) or levels of emission reductions related to
the Consent Decree resolving the New Source Review litigation or other
potential regulatory initiatives, adverse regulatory or legal decisions and
outcomes (including, but not limited to, the revocation of necessary licenses
or operating permits and oversight) by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(including, but not limited to, the Demand for Information issued to FENOC on
May 14, 2007), the timing and outcome of various proceedings before the PUCO
(including, but not limited to, the Electric Security Plan and Market Rate
Offer proceedings as well as the distribution rate cases and the generation
supply plan filing for the Ohio Companies and the successful resolution of the
issues remanded to the PUCO by the Ohio Supreme Court regarding the Rate
Stabilization Plan and the Rate Certainty Plan, including the recovery of
deferred fuel costs), Met-Ed's and Penelec's transmission service charge
filings with the PPUC (as well as the resolution of the Petitions for Review
filed with the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania with respect to the
transition rate plan for Met-Ed and Penelec), the continuing availability of
generating units and their ability to operate at or near full capacity, the
ability to comply with applicable state and federal reliability standards, the
ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic goals
(including employee workforce initiatives), the ability to improve electric
commodity margins and to experience growth in the distribution business, the
changing market conditions that could affect the value of assets held in the
registrant's nuclear decommissioning trusts, pension trusts and other trust
funds, and cause FirstEnergy to make additional contributions sooner, or in an
amount that is larger than currently anticipated, the ability to access the
public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with
FirstEnergy's financing plan and the cost of such capital, changes in general
economic conditions affecting FirstEnergy, the state of the capital and credit
markets affecting FirstEnergy, and the risks and other factors discussed from
time to time in its SEC filings, and other similar factors. 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 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.
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.
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