West Penn Power Adds New Line and Substation Employees from Power Systems Institute Training Program

GREENSBURG, Pa., June 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- West Penn Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), has hired 36 new line and substation employees from the Power Systems Institute (PSI) training program as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance service reliability for customers in Pennsylvania.

The new employees include 25 line workers who are recent graduates of the company's Power Systems Institute (PSI), a utility training partnership established with Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood, Pa. in 2012, and two from a partnering college outside the state.

The nine new substation electricians graduated from Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Johnstown, Pa., and another partnering college outside the state.

"The PSI program continues to produce well-trained, highly skilled employees to provide safe, reliable electric service for our customers," said David W. McDonald, president of West Penn Power. "The new graduates will work shoulder-to-shoulder with our veteran linemen and substation personnel, and fill key jobs as current employees retire."

The new West Penn Power lines employees listed by work locations and hometowns are:

• Arnold – Eric Glushenko, New Kensington; Quade Karas, Export; David Wheatley, Spring Church
• Boyce – Aaron Rugg, Mill Run
• Butler – Colton Beachem, Boyers; Justin O'Donnell, Butler; Christopher Herczyk, Butler
• Charleroi – Seth Ellison, Belle Vernon
• Jeanette – Nicholas Caughey, Greensburg; Zachary Miller, Scottdale; Michael Shirey II, Penn
• Jefferson – Tyler Beyer, Brownsville; Corey Ritzert, Mount Pleasant
• Kittanning – Cole Dubrock, Ford City
• Latrobe – Matthew Fontanazza, Greensburg; Jared Walters, Greensburg
• McConnellsburg – Timothy Broadwater, Perryopolis; Jacob Mlinek, Acme
• Pleasant Valley – Jonathan Keyser, Acme
• State College – Nicholas Battisti, Duncansville
• St. Marys – Chad Brocious, Brookville
• Uniontown – Patrick McDonough, Uniontown; Shawn Minerd, Dunbar; Jace Vecchiolla, Uniontown
• Washington – Andrew Wright, Herminie; Austin Young, Eighty Four
• Waynesboro – Brandon Tauber, Irwin

The new West Penn Power substation employees listed by work locations and hometowns are:

• Arnold – Ethan Charlesworth, Mount Pleasant
• Butler – John Cicconi, Valencia
• Charleroi – Eric Hickman, Sycamore
• Jeannette – Joel Berger, Normalville; Zane Clowser, Dayton; Daniel DeFrank, McClellandtown; Tucker Insko, Apollo
• St. Marys – Joshua Gleixner, St. Marys
• Washington – Bryan Guyer, McConnellsburg

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.

The PSI curriculum for lines employees requires two-and-a-half days each week spent at Westmoreland County Community College completing academic course work, with the remainder of the week spent at a West Penn Power training facility in Jeanette, Pa.  The PSI curriculum for substation employees requires a half week spent at Pennsylvania Highlands completing academic course work, with the rest of the week spent at a FirstEnergy training facility in Johnstown, Pa.  All students focus on safe work practices and procedures in the electrical environment.  The graduates earned an associate of applied science degree in Electric Utility Technology.

Since the program was developed in 2000, FirstEnergy has hired 1,315 line workers and 419 substation personnel who completed PSI programs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey 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.

West Penn Power serves about 720,000 customers in 24 Pennsylvania counties.  Connect with West Penn Power on Twitter @W_Penn_Power and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WestPennPower.

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

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.