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FirstEnergy Television Ads Explain Benefits of Proposed Rate Plan

2016-02-10 14:50 ET - News Release

Long-Term Price Stability, Economic Benefits of Keeping Plants Open and Support for Low-Income Customers Key Issues

AKRON, Ohio, Feb. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is running television ads in northeast Ohio explaining how its rate plan currently before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) will help safeguard Ohio's energy future.

The FirstEnergy campaign counters dubious claims made by Alliance for Energy Choice, a group comprised of opportunistic companies that stand to financially benefit if energy prices spike and the long-term customer protections included in FirstEnergy's plan are not implemented.

"The TV ads from the Alliance for Energy Choice attacking FirstEnergy's Electric Security Plan are an attempt to mislead customers on an issue that is important to Ohio's energy future," said William Ridmann, vice president, Rates and Regulatory Affairs for FirstEnergy.  "It's not a surprise that many of those complaining the loudest about FirstEnergy have a self-serving motivation.  These are not companies that have a long-term commitment to the people who live in Ohio."

FirstEnergy's rate plan would provide long-term price stability for Ohio's electric customers.  The company's plan is supported by PUCO Staff, low-income customer advocacy groups including Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy, the Ohio Energy Group, representing large energy-intensive industrial customers, the Council of Smaller Enterprises, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 245, and EnerNOC, an energy management services provider, along with others.

In its ads, FirstEnergy summarizes how the plan will provide long-term benefits to Ohio consumers.  Overall, the company's plan preserves $1 billion in annual regional economic benefits, including tax revenues and an estimated 3,000 direct and indirect jobs created by operations at Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio, and the W.H. Sammis Plant in Stratton, Ohio.

Unlike other electric suppliers that rely on one fuel source, FirstEnergy's plan provides benefits to customers, similar to an insurance policy, by keeping a diverse set of fuel sources available in Ohio to generate electricity.  This strategy reduces the risk of more Ohio plant closures, and building costly transmission to import energy sources that put Ohio at risk of higher electric prices in the years ahead.

The plan also provides more than $102 million to help low-income customers with bill payment and energy efficiency programs, along with economic development funding for Ohio communities.

View FirstEnergy's Ohio Proud ad on YouTube.

FirstEnergy Corp. is a diversified energy company dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence.  Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York.  The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, while its generation subsidiaries control nearly 17,000 megawatts of capacity from a diversified mix of scrubbed coal, non-emitting nuclear, natural gas, hydro and other renewables.  Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/firstenergy-television-ads-explain-benefits-of-proposed-rate-plan-300218347.html

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.

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