Potomac Edison Hires New Graduates from FirstEnergy's Power Systems Institute Training Program

WILLIAMSPORT, Md., June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Potomac Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), has hired 15 new graduates from the Power Systems Institute (PSI), the company's award-winning, two-year educational program that helps train the next generation of line and substation workers for FirstEnergy's 10 electric companies. 

The new employees include 13 line workers and two substation electricians who recently graduated from the PSI program at Blue Ridge Community & Technical College in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The partnership with the college was established in 2015 following FirstEnergy's merger with Allegheny Energy.

"Our PSI program has strengthened our diverse workforce pipeline and instilled safe work practices, proper work methods and teambuilding by developing the well-educated men and women needed to provide reliable power to customers," said James A. Sears, Jr., president of FirstEnergy's Maryland Operations. "We welcome these graduates joining our workforce to help continue providing safe and reliable electric service for our customers."

Potomac Edison's new PSI graduates include:

• Jacob Blickenstaff, Hagerstown, Md.
• Devin Ward, Frederick, Md.
• Parker Wilson, Fort Ashby, W.Va.
• Brian Linton, Inwood, W.Va.

The PSI curriculum for lines employees requires two and a half days each week spent between Blue Ridge and Potomac Edison's training facility in Williamsport, Maryland, for hands-on learning that focuses on safe work practices and procedures in the electrical environment.

FirstEnergy is celebrating 20 years of graduates from the PSI program, which was originally developed by the company in 2000. Students who successfully complete the program earn an associate degree from an affiliated community college in their area. Since the program's inception, FirstEnergy has hired more than 2,000 line and substation personnel who completed PSI programs in Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. 

For information about how to enroll in the PSI program, call 1-800-829-6801, or go to www.firstenergycorp.com/psi.

Potomac Edison serves about 270,000 customers in all or parts of Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Montgomery, and Washington counties in Maryland and 137,000 customers in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Follow Potomac Edison at www.potomacedison.com, on Twitter @PotomacEdison, and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PotomacEdison.

FirstEnergy Corp. is dedicated to integrity, 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 approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com. Follow FirstEnergy and its utilities on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp, @ToledoEdison, @IlluminatingCo, @OhioEdison, @MonPowerWV, @JCP_L, @Penn_Power, @Penelec, @Met_Ed, @PotomacEdison, @W_Penn_Power.

Editor's Note: Photos of FirstEnergy Power Systems Institute graduates are available for download on Flickr.                           

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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.