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Company offers tips for customers to manage rising temperatures and energy costs

AKRON, Ohio , June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With the hot summer months likely to produce higher electric usage and potentially severe weather, FirstEnergy Corp.'s (NYSE: FE) Ohio electric companies – Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison – recently completed inspections and conducted equipment maintenance expected to enhance service reliability for customers. The work builds upon vast equipment and technology upgrades FirstEnergy has made to its electric grid in Ohio over the past two years to help prevent power outages and reduce many interruptions to just a brief or momentary outage.

"We proactively inspect, maintain and upgrade our equipment to help minimize the length and impact of service interruptions," said Ed Shuttleworth , president of FirstEnergy's Ohio operations. "Since 2020, FirstEnergy has invested more than $300 million in new automated equipment and technology across its Ohio service area to help keep power flowing to our customers in all types of weather conditions."

Proactive equipment inspections include using thermovision cameras to capture infrared images of electrical equipment, helping detect potential problems within substations and on power lines that cannot be observed during regular visual inspections. The infrared technology shows heat on a color scale, with brighter colors or "hot spots" indicating areas that could need repairs. These images can identify equipment issues such as loose connections, corrosion and load imbalances, and utility workers are able to make repairs to prevent potential power outages in the future.

Other utility work being done by FirstEnergy utility personnel includes inspecting electrical equipment, like transformers, located along neighborhood power lines and within substations to ensure the infrastructure is ready to perform efficiently when demand for electricity increases during the summer, typically due to air conditioning usage.

In addition, helicopter patrols have completed inspections of more than 7,200 miles of transmission lines owned by American Transmission Systems, Inc. (ATSI), a FirstEnergy subsidiary, across the company's Ohio footprint. The inspections are designed to look for damaged wire, broken cross arms and other hardware problems not visible from the ground. Any potential reliability issues identified during the inspections are addressed as quickly as possible.

Beyond infrastructure work, FirstEnergy's utility employees participate in readiness exercises and drills throughout the year to test the company's restoration process used to address storm-related power outages. Storm drills are becoming more common in the utility industry in the wake of severe weather over the last several years.

Customers can get tips to prepare in advance of severe weather, and view restoration updates if storms do cause power outages, by visiting FirstEnergy's 24/7 Power Center at www.firstenergycorp.com/outages. 

With the summer storm season also comes higher-than-usual temperatures and rising energy costs. Customers can take steps to beat the heat while also managing their electricity bill this summer. The following tips can help customers use electricity wisely during this period of high demand:

Summer is also a time when contractors and homeowners spend more time outdoors completing projects. Important outdoor electrical safety tips are available at www.firstenergycorp.com/publicsafety. 

Ohio Edison serves more than one million customers across 34 Ohio counties. Follow Ohio Edison on Twitter @OhioEdison, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OhioEdison, and online at www.ohioedison.com. 

The Illuminating Company serves 755,000 customers across Ashtabula , Cuyahoga , Geauga , Lake and Lorain counties. Connect with The Illuminating Company at www.illuminatingcompany.com, on Twitter @IlluminatingCo and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IlluminatingCo. 

Toledo Edison serves nearly 315,000 customers in northwest Ohio . Follow Toledo Edison on Twitter @ToledoEdison or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ToledoEdison.

FirstEnergy 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 on Twitter: @FirstEnergyCorp. 

Editor's Note: Photos of FirstEnergy utility personnel installing new equipment and conducting inspections are available for download on Flickr. A video of utility personnel conducting a thermovision inspection and explaining the work can be found on the company's YouTube channel.

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