The Illuminating Company Adds New Line Workers from Power Systems Institute Training Program

AKRON, Ohio, June 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Illuminating Company, a FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) utility, has hired 27 graduates of the company's utility worker training program as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance service reliability for customers in northeast Ohio.

The new line workers are recent graduates of the company's Power Systems Institute (PSI), a utility training partnership with Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) in Cleveland.

"The PSI program remains the best way to add well-trained, highly skilled employees to our workforce," said John Skory, regional president of The Illuminating Company.  "The rigorous class work and experience gained in the field by working with veteran line personnel helps our new workers to ensure safe and reliable electric service for our customers into the future." 

The new Illuminating Company lines employees listed by work location and hometown are:

• Concord – Ryan Hall, Montville; Sean Hamilton, Conneaut; Justin Preziuso, Chardon
• Cleveland/Miles – Anthony Hudson, Alliance; Austin Nagel, Avon; Karl Scheffler, Cleveland; James Schuster, Avon; Jacob Theobald, Parma Heights
• Mayfield – Brian Bevins, Jefferson; Charles Pearce, Mayfield Heights; Ryan Savage, Boardman; Jacob Smolik, North Royalton; Josiah Swanson, Mentor-on-the-Lake
• Solon – Adam Boone, Painesville; Trevor Bruce, Stow
• Strongsville – Mark Hickle, Strongsville; Christopher McKenzie, Grafton; Shaun Perry, Broadview Heights; Nicholas Ricci, Jr., Parma; Brandon Urig, Grafton; Alex Wyatt, Sagamore Hills; Nicklaus Zink, Bay Village
• Westlake – Phillip Bero, Rocky River; Jacob Blick; Austintown; Thomas Busa, Bay Village; Thomas Holowecky, Avon; Brendan Teets, Westlake.

PSI is an award-winning, two-year educational program originally developed by FirstEnergy in 2000 to help prepare the company's next generation of utility line and substation workers.

PSI students split time between classes at Tri-C and The Illuminating Company's training facility in Brooklyn.  Since the program's inception, FirstEnergy has hired more than 1,300 line and 420 substation personnel who completed PSI programs in Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

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

The Illuminating Company serves more than 750,000 customers across Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Lorain counties.  Follow The Illuminating Company on Twitter @IlluminatingCo and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IlluminatingCo.

FirstEnergy is 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. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.

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

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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.