FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Utilities File Plans to Enhance Energy Efficiency and Conservation
02 July 2009 - 6:39AM
PR Newswire (US)
READING, Pa., July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pennsylvania Power
Company, Pennsylvania Electric Company and Metropolitan Edison
Company today filed plans that, if approved, will help customers
reduce energy demand and consumption. The filing was made today
with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PPUC) under Act
129 of 2008, which outlines goals to reduce energy use through May
31, 2013. The companies are subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp.
(NYSE:FE). "Our plans are designed to achieve overall reductions in
energy consumption and peak demand, and help our customers save
energy and money on their electric bills," said John Paganie,
FirstEnergy vice president, Customer Service and Energy Efficiency.
"The plans also should help reduce the need for new generating
resources, because a megawatt saved can be as important as a
megawatt produced." The plans include campaigns to educate
customers about cost-effective ways to save energy, support for
energy audits, and rebates and other incentives for efficiency
upgrades. The filing also provides information on the estimated
cost to develop and implement those plans, and a cost-recovery
mechanism to pay for the programs. The companies currently expect
the cost to develop and implement the plans to be nearly $200
million. Public input hearings on the plans will be held later this
summer in the companies' service territories. PPUC approval of the
plans is expected later this fall. Act 129, which was passed in
October 2008, requires electric consumption to be reduced by 1
percent by May 31, 2011, and by 3 percent by May 31, 2013. In
addition, the demand placed on the companies' system during peak
usage periods must be reduced by 4.5 percent by May 31, 2013. A
copy of the filing will be available on the company's website at:
http://www.firstenergycorp.com/. FirstEnergy Corp. 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 our
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 Pennsylvania, the impact of the PUCO's
regulatory process on the Ohio Companies associated with the
distribution rate case, the impact of the competitive generation
procurement process in Ohio, 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 potential impacts of the U.S. Court
of Appeals' July 11, 2008 decision requiring revisions to 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 AQC Plan (including that such amounts could be higher
than anticipated or that certain generating units may need to be
shut down) or levels of emission reductions related to the Consent
Decree resolving the NSR 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 NRC (including,
but not limited to, the Demand for Information issued to FENOC on
May 14, 2007), Met-Ed's and Penelec's transmission service charge
filings with the PPUC, 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
FirstEnergy's nuclear decommissioning trusts, pension trusts and
other trust funds, and cause it 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 the company, the state of the capital and credit markets
affecting the company, interest rates and any actions taken by
credit rating agencies that could negatively affect FirstEnergy's
access to financing or its costs and increase its requirements to
post additional collateral to support outstanding commodity
positions, letters of credit and other financial guarantees, the
continuing decline of the national and regional economy and its
impact on FirstEnergy's major industrial and commercial customers,
issues concerning the soundness of financial institutions and
counterparties with which FirstEnergy does business, 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 its 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. DATASOURCE: FirstEnergy Corp. CONTACT: Scott Surgeoner,
+1-610-921-6785, for FirstEnergy Corp. Web Site:
http://www.firstenergycorp.com/
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