AKRON, Ohio, May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony J. Alexander told the audience at today's Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Akron, Ohio, that the company had strong financial results in 2008 and in the first quarter of 2009, and he expects to address short-term challenges by continuing to focus on the fundamentals of the business.
"We face several key challenges over the near term - including the possibility of a prolonged recession, higher pension and uncollectible expenses, tight credit markets, and increased regulatory oversight and environmental requirements," he said. "As we work through these challenges, our focus will remain on the fundamentals of our business - so that as the economy and market prices recover, we can continue our positive momentum and position your Company for growth and success."
Alexander said the results of the auction to procure power and set retail prices for FirstEnergy's Ohio utility customers reflect the current economic conditions, with strong participation from suppliers looking to sell excess generation. The company's competitive subsidiary, FirstEnergy Solutions, continues to aggressively implement a retail strategy to help capture additional customers and load within and outside of Ohio, Alexander said, adding that competitive markets offer the best opportunity to grow the company in the future.
In addition, the company has reduced capital, operating and maintenance expenditures by about $600 million this year, and expects to take additional steps to reduce costs. The company also reduced staffing earlier this year through a reorganization that will streamline operations.
At the meeting, Alexander also discussed the company's efforts to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of its generation plants, investments that have improved the reliability of electric service, and the company's environmental position in the face of possible federal mandates to reduce carbon emissions, as well as regional requirements for renewable electricity.
"We remain committed to producing and delivering electricity in an environmentally sound manner. Last year, 40 percent of the electricity we generated came from carbon-free sources. As a result, FirstEnergy should be better positioned than many other generators if there are federal mandates to reduce carbon emissions," he 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: Alexander; Paul T. Addison, retired managing director of Salomon Smith Barney; Michael J. Anderson, president, chief executive officer and director of The Andersons, Inc.; Dr. Carol A. Cartwright, president of Bowling Green State University; William T. Cottle, retired chairman, president and chief executive officer of STP Nuclear Operating Company; Robert B. Heisler, Jr., dean of the College of Business Administration and Graduate School of Management 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 establishment of a shareholder engagement process failed to receive a majority of votes cast. Receiving a majority of affirmative votes cast from shareholders were non-binding proposals requesting the adoption of simple majority shareholder voting; recommending a reduction in the threshold of stock ownership required for calling a special shareholder meeting; 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 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 Ohio and Pennsylvania, the impact of the PUCO's regulatory process on the Ohio Companies associated with the distribution rate case or implementing the recently approved ESP, including the outcome of any 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.
FirstEnergy Corp.
CONTACT: Media, Tricia Ingraham, +1-330-384-5247, or Investors, Ron
Seeholzer, +1-330-384-5415, both of FirstEnergy Corp.
Web Site: http://www.firstenergycorp.com/
