Public company | |
Traded as | : FE DJUA Component S&P 500 Component |
Industry | Electric Utility |
Founded | 1997 |
Headquarters | Akron, Ohio, U.S. |
Area served
|
6 million customers within 65,000 square miles (170,000 km2) of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey (as of June, 2012) |
Key people
|
Chuck Jones, President and CEO and Willard Holland, first CEO |
Products | Electricity generation, transmission and distribution, energy management, other energy-related services |
Revenue | $14.562 billion (2016) |
Total assets | US$43.148 billion (2016) |
Number of employees
|
15,500 (2012) |
Website | www |
FirstEnergy Corporation 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 ten electric utility operating companies comprise the United States' largest investor-owned utility, based on serving 6 million customers within a 65,000-square-mile (170,000 km2) area of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and New York. Its generation subsidiaries control more than 23,000 megawatts of capacity, and its distribution lines span over 194,000 miles. In 2013, FirstEnergy ranked 181 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest public corporations in America.
In November 2016, FirstEnergy made the decision to exit the competitive power business, and become a fully regulated company during the next 18 months. It was anticipated that some generating units would be sold, and some would be shut down.
FirstEnergy was formed on November 7, 1997, when Ohio Edison acquired Centerior Energy and its subsidiaries for $1.6 billion in stock. The company was acquired with plans for a restructuring and layoffs to cut costs. That same month the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) initiated an investigation into the reliability of FirstEnergy's energy transmission in the context of possible plant shutdowns and prior problems with Centerior.
In 2001, FirstEnergy merged with GPU, Inc., the owner of Jersey Central Power & Light Company, Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec), and Metropolitan Edison Company (Met-Ed).
Ohio Edison Company (formerly OEC on the NYSE) was a publicly traded holding company that began in 1930, from the consolidation of 200 electric companies. By 1950, it ended up with two utility operating companies, Pennsylvania Power and Ohio Edison. It continued in existence until 1997, when its merger with Centerior formed FirstEnergy:
Centerior Energy Corporation (formerly CX on the NYSE) was formed in 1986 from the merger of two old operating companies. Centerior was based in Independence, Ohio, and existed as a publicly traded holding company for only ten years, until its merger with Ohio Edison formed FirstEnergy in 1997:
General Public Utilities (formerly GPU on the NYSE) was a publicly traded utility holding company in Morristown, New Jersey. In 1996, the company was reorganized and renamed GPU, Inc. In 1996, it formed a new division as well, GPU Energy, which became the holding company for its three utility operating companies: