FirstEnergy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
FirstEnergy is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. It serves 4.4 million customers, providing electric power, natural gas, and steam distribution services to parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. FirstEnergy's utility customers are served through seven operating companies: Cleveland Electric Illuminating, Jersey Central Power and Light, Metropolitan Edison, Ohio Edison, Pennsylvania Electric Company ("Penelec"), Penn Power, and Toledo Edison.
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[edit] Formation of the company
FirstEnergy was formed by the merger of Ohio Edison and Centerior Energy, itself the product of a merger between the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison, in 1997. In 2001, FirstEnergy acquired GPU, Inc., owner of Jersey Central Power and Light, Pennsylvania Electric Company ("Penelec"), & Metropolitan Edison (Met-Ed). Through the acquisition of GPU, FirstEnergy also acquired the MYR Group, which installs & maintains utility power lines and cellular telephone communications towers. [1]
[edit] Generating capacity
FirstEnergy's electric generation is primarily from coal and nuclear power plants. The system also includes natural gas, oil, and hydroelectric power plants. FirstEnergy operates the Beaver Valley, Davis-Besse, and Perry nuclear power plants.
[edit] Notable accidents and incidents
FirstEnergy was one of several utilities involved in the 2003 North America blackout. The blackout was caused by the failure of FirstEnergy to trim the trees around their high voltage lines in a certain sector of Ohio; heat and extreme power needs caused the lines to sag, coming into contact with the trees and causing power failure. See 2003 North American blackout for more details.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted on January 16, 2004 to investigate Metropolitan Edison, Pennsylvania Electric and Pennsylvania Power, all owned by FirstEnergy, because their service reliability "may have fallen below established standards".
On Friday, January 20, 2006, FirstEnergy acknowledged a cover-up of serious safety violations by former workers at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, and accepted a plea bargain with the U.S. Department of Justice in lieu of possible federal criminal prosecution. The plea bargain relates to the March 2002 discovery of severe corrosion in the pressure vessel of the nuclear reactor, contained within the plant's containment building. In the agreement, the company agreed to pay fines of $23 million, with an additional $5 million to be contributed toward research on alternative energy sources and to Habitat for Humanity as well as to pay for costs related to the Federal investigation. In addition, two former employees and one former contractor were indicted for purposely deceiving Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspectors in multiple documents (including one videotape) over several years, hiding evidence that the reactor pressure vessel was being seriously corroded by boric acid. The maximum penalty for the three is 25 years in prison. The indictment also cites other employees as providing false information to inspectors, but does not name them.
