CEO Reports on Strong Financial and Operational Results AKRON, Ohio, May 20
AKRON, Ohio, May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE)
President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony J. Alexander told the audience
at today's Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Akron, Ohio, that the company has
become one of the electric utility industry's top performers in many key
areas.
"We marked our 10th year as FirstEnergy and delivered the best financial
and operational results in our Company's history," he said.
During 2007, FirstEnergy shareholders achieved a total return of nearly 24
percent, reflecting stock price appreciation and reinvested dividends, and the
market value of the company increased by nearly $3 billion.
Mr. Alexander said the company also continued to increase the productivity
and efficiency of its fossil and nuclear generating plants. Last year,
FirstEnergy's generating fleet produced nearly 20 percent more power than in
1999, when Ohio passed legislation deregulating the state's electric industry.
"This strong performance -- combined with our strategic marketing
activities -- has helped make FirstEnergy one of the nation's largest and most
successful competitive electricity suppliers, with more than 100 million
megawatt-hours sold in 2007," he said.
"I'm also proud of our employees' strong focus on safety," Mr. Alexander
said. "Last year, they achieved the best safety results in our history and
one of the best in our industry -- with less than one recordable incident per
200,000 hours worked."
As the company sets its sights on new operational milestones, Mr.
Alexander said that FirstEnergy remains committed to producing and delivering
electricity in an environmentally sound manner. Over the next few years, the
company will complete its nearly $2 billion Air Quality Compliance program,
which is expected to further enhance the environmental performance of its
generating fleet.
FirstEnergy has also taken a number of important steps to control its
carbon emissions. Since 1990, the company has avoided approximately 150
million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) through productivity improvements, the
retirement of older coal-based units and the acquisition of more nuclear
generation.
"As a result, we're producing more electricity today than ever before
while keeping CO2 emissions at 1990 levels," he said. "And, it's important to
note that nearly 40 percent of our electricity is generated by non-emitting
sources."
Mr. Alexander said the new Ohio electric utility law that was passed by
the state legislature and signed by the governor recognizes the changes
FirstEnergy has made to its organization, and will enable the company to
capture the value of its competitive generating facilities.
"The law not only provides a clear path to competitive markets for
generation, but also gives us the ability to negotiate rate plans," he said.
"Further, the law is consistent with our long-term strategies regarding
renewable power and energy efficiency," Mr. Alexander said.
At the meeting, FirstEnergy shareholders reelected 11 members to its Board
of Directors and voted on other company and shareholder proposals. All of the
preliminary voting results are subject to final certification.
The following directors were reelected to one-year terms: Mr. Alexander;
Paul T. Addison, retired managing director of Salomon Smith Barney; Michael J.
Anderson, president and chief executive officer of The Andersons, Inc., and
chairman of the board, Interstate Bakeries Corporation; Dr. Carol A.
Cartwright, retired president of Kent State University; William T. Cottle,
retired chairman, president and chief executive officer of STP Nuclear
Operating Company; Robert B. Heisler, Jr., special assistant for community and
business strategies to the president of Kent State University; Ernest J.
Novak, Jr., retired managing partner of the Cleveland office of Ernst & Young
LLP; Catherine A. Rein, retired senior executive vice president and chief
administrative officer of MetLife Inc.; George M. Smart, non-executive
chairman of the FirstEnergy Board of Directors and retired president of
Sonoco-Phoenix, Inc.; Wes M. Taylor, retired president of TXU Generation; and
Jesse T. Williams, Sr., retired vice president of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber
Company.
In other business, shareholders ratified the appointment of
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered public
accounting firm.
Four non-binding shareholder proposals were also considered at the
meeting. A proposal requesting the Board to adopt a policy establishing an
engagement process with proponents of shareholder proposals failed to gain a
majority of affirmative votes cast from shareholders. Receiving a majority of
affirmative votes cast from shareholders were non-binding proposals requesting
a reduction in the threshold of stock ownership required for calling a special
shareholder meeting; recommending the adoption of simple majority shareholder
voting; and requesting the adoption of a majority vote standard for the
election of directors.
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 our, or 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 our
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, economic or weather conditions affecting future sales and
margins, changes in markets for energy services, changing energy and commodity
market prices, 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 including revised environmental
requirements and possible greenhouse gas emissions regulation, 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) as disclosed in our SEC filings, the timing and outcome of
various proceedings before the PUCO (including, but not limited to, 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 Supreme Court of Ohio regarding the Rate Stabilization Plan and the Rate
Certainty Plan, including the deferral of fuel costs) and Met-Ed 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 continue 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, changing market conditions
that could affect the value of assets held in our nuclear decommissioning
trust fund, pension fund and other trust funds, the ability to access the
public securities and other capital markets and the cost of such capital, the
risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our 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 us to predict all such factors, nor can we 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. We expressly disclaim any
current intention to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as
a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.
