Added messaging informing customer as to payment options when an actual bill is received (after multiple estimates) if the bill is > 25% than the customer's prior year bill informing customers of some payment options at receipt of the bill reducing dissatisfaction with catch-up bills.

The report also outlines in some detail how the company's board of directors during the last year has taken some significant steps to tie executive incentive pay to company performance.

Under the new rules, Alexander's base salary -- $1.34 million since 2011 -- accounted for just 12 percent of what he potentially could have earned in 2013, the report notes. The rest of his compensation is now entirely performance based.

"We believe that the quality, skills, and dedication of our executive officers, including our NEOs (named executive officers), are critical elements in our ongoing ability to deliver positive operating results and enhance shareholder value," the compensation committee of the company's board of directors explained in the report.

FirstEnergy lost two large power plants during January's arctic-like weather -- the 2,490-megawatt coal-burning Bruce Mansfield plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, and right next door, one of its 900-megawatt nuclear reactors at its Beaver Valley power plant.

And then the company found it could not buy natural gas for its 545-megawatt gas turbine plant in Lorain. The shutdowns and inability to buy gas forced the company to buy power on the regional grid -- just as wholesale market prices soared.

Power purchases during the 10 days of sub-zero January weather knocked down earnings by 13 cents per share, Leila Vespoli, chief legal officer and executive vice president of markets, told financial analysts during a public teleconference Tuesday and now available on the company's website.

She said power purchases over the entire quarter reduced earnings by a total of 23 cents per share.

Then extra charges levied by PJM Interconnection, the manager of the grid in Ohio and 12 other states, nicked another 10 cents per share out of gross profits, she said, though the company is planning on recovering about half of that from commercial and industrial customers.

Higher prices exasperated the earnings impact of our power purchases.

...recovery of costs associated with storm repairs from the 2012 Derecho and Hurricane Sandy, along with operating costs at power stations, including new environmental control equipment. In addition, the rate request includes hiring 50 new company employees to help enhance service reliability.

Currently, the monthly bill for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours is about $92.62. If the proposed rate increase, including the cost of the new tree trimming program, is granted, the monthly bill would be about $106.79.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison have not filed for an increase in base rates for nearly five years. The companies’ last major rate changes were a decrease in fuel-related rates of 5 percent on Jan. 1, 2013, and a rate reduction of 1.5 percent in October 2013 due to the Harrison acquisition.
Even with the full proposed increase and tree trimming surcharge, Mon Power and Potomac Edison residential rates would be 10 percent lower than the national average residential rates.

To help customers manage their bills, Mon Power and Potomac Edison offer an average payment plan, special payment plans, and access to energy assistance programs.

“The filing will help ensure continued safe and reliable electric generation for our customers,” said Holly Kauffman, president of FirstEnergy’s West Virginia Operations. “On the utility side of our operations, the new employees will include linemen, engineers, supervisors and other personnel to help make the service we provide our customers even better and meet anticipated business growth in our state.”

The National Labor Relations Board has charged Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. and its utility companies with unfair labor practices associated with the closing of two power plants in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Acting on complaints from the Utility Workers Union of America Local 102, which represents 850 FirstEnergy employees across three states, the NLRB is alleging that FirstEnergy refused to talk about job placement, severance and other benefits for workers at Mitchell and Hatfield’s Ferry power plants unless the entire union signed a new contract that included concessions in benefits and other changes. The two coal-fired power plants closed in October.

“They held all them folks hostage to try to get a contract that effected everyone in our bargaining unit unfairly,” said Bob Whalen, president of Local 102.

Potomac Edison To Adjoin Hands Together With Mon Power and First Energy Corp. (NYSE:FE) For Tree Trimming Program

Boston, MA 04/29/2014 (wallstreetpr) - Potomac Edison or widely known as PEPCO is one of the well known names in the field of electricity power supply, in the Washington DC area. According  to a recently published report,  Potomac Edison along with First Energy Corp. (NYSE:FE) And Mon Power has recently received an authorization from Public Service Commission (PSC) of Virginia for a new tree trimming program. This program will help in reducing the power outages due to various storms in the West Virginia area.

This tree trimming program will initially continue for a period of five years. Under this program, the tree trimming will be placed along with right-of-way vegetation for next five years. Once the initial set up is evaluated, and all the errors are removed then there are possibilities that the duration will be shorten to four years. Both First Energy Corp. (NYSE:FE) and Mon Power will focus on rural areas in which all the trees will be trimmed near distribution lines and transmission lines for the betterment of service reliability.

In a press conference the CEO and Head of First Energy Corp. (NYSE:FE)’s West Virginia Operations Holly Kauffman said,” Electricity is necessary for day to day life, and we know that extended outages due to major storms can be really difficult for our customers.” The company is trying to focus on tree trimming, transmission network, and distribution that will decrease the chances of electricity outages due to major storms and bed weather and concentrate on improved life style and overall service quality.

Though there can be several other factors which can cause electricity outage. These factors keep changing, and it is not possible for management to predict all the factors, thus a team of expert keep an eye over any such probability, so that if any such factor comes into the picture, it can be eliminated with immediate effect.

FirstEnergy Corp.‘s stock had its “sell” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Citigroup Inc. in a report issued on Thursday...

Local 102 represents about 690 of FirstEnergy’s linemen, substation workers, meter readers and technicians in the big electric utility’s Potomac Edison and West Penn Power territories.
About 125 of Local 102’s members work at Potomac Edison service centers in Williamsport; Frederick, Mount Airy and Thurmont, Md.; Martinsburg and Berkeley Springs, W.Va.; and Waynesboro and McConnellsburg, Pa.
Potomac Edison serves about 250,000 Maryland customers in an area stretching from Garrett County east to parts of Montgomery and Carroll counties, and about 132,000 customers in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle.
West Penn Power, whose territory includes Pennsylvania’s Franklin and Fulton counties, serves about 720,000 customers.
In March 2013, FirstEnergy began negotiations with Local 102 for a labor contract to replace the three-year pact that was to expire April 30, 2013.
What happened next is in dispute.
The company said the contract expired and the union members have continued working under the terms of the previous contract. The union, on the other hand, said the contract was extended for one year until May 1, 2014 — 10 days from today.

Asked last week whether that means a deadline is looming, FirstEnergy spokesman Toad Meyers said, “We’re not facing a deadline from the company’s standpoint. The plans are to continue to negotiate.”
Meyers, who is the utility’s spokesman for comment on negotiations with Local 102, didn’t mention the talks in Detroit.
He said “at least seven more negotiations” are scheduled with Local 102 leaders before April ends. He said he has “no idea” where those talks are taking place.
Asked Thursday what happens if an agreement isn’t reached by May 1, Whalen said there’s a “variety of things that could happen.
“First of all, we continue to work day by day,” Whalen said. “Or, the union could agree to sign an extension to work under the (last contract’s) terms for ‘x’ number of days.
“Or, depending on what (FirstEnergy is) thinking, they certainly have the ability to lock us out when they want,” the legality of which would “depend on where it’s at in the negotiations,” Whalen said.
“And then, the last thing, if we don’t have an extension, we have the right to strike,” Whalen said.
If a strike or a lockout were to come, Whalen said neither could happen until at least May 1, when the “no-strike, no-lockout provision” expires with what the union said is still the contract.

Tell Uncle Tony to take a cut in pay, put a pair of di electric boots up his a$$ filled with concrete and take a plunge in the Delaware. Italian my a$$ he is a embarrassment to the nationality and the human race. Some would call him "Yellow" not Uncle Tony or possibly numb-nuts. Yell "Mafia" and I bet he pees his pants.

Mon Power is an a$$-hole company. The WV PSC allows them to screw over consumers of electric.

And the company still thinks is has the ability to charge extra fees to its customers, even if they have fixed-rate contracts, based on comments from FirstEnergy Solutions President Donald R. Schneider.
“It was a very difficult winter, particularly for residential customers, and hopefully waiving the surcharge will make it somewhat easier,” he said in a release. “Even though our contracts allow us to pass through surcharges, we have decided we won’t seek reimbursement from residential customers for the added costs.”