FirstEnergy received an Emergency Recovery Award from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) in recognition of our response in restoring power to more than 287,000 Ohio and West Virginia customers following severe weather that produced three confirmed tornadoes and extreme temperatures in June 2022.

This is the 17th consecutive year that FirstEnergy has been recognized by EEI for our storm response efforts.

From June 13-16, portions of the northcentral Ohio and West Virginia service areas served by Ohio Edison and Mon Power, respectively, bore the brunt of three major thunderstorm events with wind speeds greater than 80 miles per hour, followed by a multi-day heat wave that recorded heat indices above 105 degrees.

More than 1,800 line workers, forestry crews and support personnel worked safely to minimize the outage time for customers, ultimately replacing 263 poles, 149 transformers and about 25 miles of wire.

“I am proud to accept this award on behalf of the hundreds of FirstEnergy employees and others who worked tirelessly in difficult conditions to get the lights back on for our customers during some of the hottest days of the year,” said Sam Belcher, senior vice president, Operations. “Our Ohio Edison and Mon Power personnel worked safely around the clock, overcoming challenging weather, impassable roads and other hazardous conditions to be there when our customers needed us the most.”

EEI presents awards twice annually to member companies for extraordinary power restoration efforts or assistance to other electric companies after service disruptions caused by weather conditions and other natural events. Winners are chosen by a panel of independent judges following an international nomination process. The awards were presented January 11, during EEI’s winter board of directors meeting.