January 3, 2020

FirstEnergy and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) recently collaborated on a completely new type of project to support reliability for customers by modernizing the transmission system – TV commercials.

“Our multi-year Energizing the Future investments in transmission are enhancing service reliability, reducing outages and creating jobs in our communities,” said Mark Mroczynski, vice president, Construction & Design Services. “The TV commercials help our customers and regulators understand the value of investing in our aging transmission system while also highlighting the work of IBEW members.”

This exciting video project was created and funded by the Labor Management Cooperation Committee, an external organization made up of and jointly run by IBEW and FirstEnergy leaders. The two new commercials star Penelec line workers and substation employees who are members of IBEW Local 459. They include dramatic images of employees high atop transmission structures who are working to modernize the grid, moving our transmission system into the future and increasing reliability for customers. FirstEnergy’s Communications and Branding team worked closely with IBEW’s media group to produce the spots at the labor union’s in-house production studio in Washington, DC.

“This project was a truly collaborative effort between FirstEnergy and the IBEW,” said Dave Winston, director, Labor and Employee Relations & Corporate Security. “Together, we were able to highlight our hard-working utility professionals and reinforce our partnership in serving customers – two messages that resonate well both inside the company as well as externally.”

The 30-second TV commercials are set to air in early January in portions of Ohio and Pennsylvania where significant transmission upgrades have already taken place. The campaign may extend to New Jersey.

IBEW Commercial 1

IBEW Commercial 2