JCP&L, Brookdale Community College and Raritan Valley Community College to Offer Training Program for Future Utility Workers
Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno Joins with JCP&L Executives and College Presidents for Announcement
MORRISTOWN, N.J., Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), is partnering with Brookdale Community College and Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) to reinstate its award-winning program to train the next generation of utility line and substation workers.
The Power Systems Institute is a two-year program that combines hands-on utility skills at JCP&L training facilities with technical course work at the two colleges. Participating graduates will earn an Associate of Applied Science degree with a focus on electric utility technology.
Making the announcement today at an event at JCP&L's Farmingdale training facility were: Kim Guadagno, lieutenant governor of New Jersey; Jim Fakult, president of JCP&L; Dr. Maureen Murphy, president of Brookdale Community College; and Dr. Michael J. McDonough, president of RVCC.
"JCP&L's willingness to embrace new and innovative ways to train its future employees through the Power Systems Institute is a model for New Jersey businesses," said Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno. "By ensuring the next generation of utility workers has the skills and education they need to succeed, we are putting New Jersey at the forefront of workforce alignment. Congratulations to JCP&L, Brookdale Community College and Raritan Valley Community College on this important program."
"JCP&L's partnerships with Brookdale and Raritan Valley Community College support workforce alignment and we are pleased Lieutenant Governor Guadagno joined us today," said Jim Fakult, president of JCP&L. "The Power Systems Institute has already provided JCP&L with more than 160 highly skilled employees who are working in the field today, using the training they received from this unique program to deliver our customers the quality service they expect and deserve. We are proud to renew this innovative opportunity to meet our future workforce needs."
"This program teaches in-demand job skills, leads to a college degree and creates an opportunity for employment immediately after graduation," said Brookdale president, Dr. Maureen Murphy. "It fits perfectly with Brookdale's mission and we are thrilled to once again offer this unique opportunity."
"Raritan Valley Community College is excited to renew its partnership with Jersey Central Power & Light in the electric utility technology training program," said RVCC president, Dr. Michael J. McDonough. "This unique and strategic collaboration allows RVCC to champion economic development and to prepare students for challenging jobs."
FirstEnergy originally introduced PSI in 2000 as a way to replace retiring line workers. Programs were established at RVCC in 2003 and at Brookdale Community College in 2007. With the economic downturn, in 2011 most of the PSI programs were placed on hold because projected hiring needs did not support bringing in new students. As future workforce needs were re-evaluated, the decision was made to reinstate the PSI program targeting a fall of 2015 enrollment class.
Program openings are limited, and applications will be assessed through a competitive, multi-step process. Orientation programs for prospective students will take place on Wednesday, January 28, 2015, from 6-8 p.m. at Brookdale Community College, 765 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft, N.J. and on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, from 6-8 p.m. at RVCC, 118 Lamington Road, Branchburg, N.J. More information is available at www.firstenergycorp.com/psi or by calling 800-829-6801.
JCP&L serves 1.1 million New Jersey customers in the counties of Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren. Follow JCP&L on Twitter @JCP_L, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JCPandL or online at www.jcp-l.com.
About Brookdale Community College
Brookdale, the County College of Monmouth, is a dynamic community college system committed to student success, lifelong learning, economic development and the common good of safety.
Brookdale plays a transformative role in the community, providing educational, cultural and professional programs and offerings to enable, empower and inspire all community members to fulfill their aspirations to their best ability.
About Raritan Valley Community College
RVCC's main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, N.J. Serving Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for over 40 years, the College offers more than 90 associate degrees and certificates. RVCC@Bridgewater, located at 14 Vogt Drive, offers technical, trade, credit and non-credit courses.
The college is committed to offering a quality and affordable education through effective teaching, liaisons with the community's businesses and state-of-the art technology. For further information visit www.raritanval.edu.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements based on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. These statements include declarations regarding management's intents, beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the terms "anticipate," "potential," "expect," "forecast," "will," "intend," "believe," "estimate" and similar words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, which may include the following: the speed and nature of increased competition in the electric utility industry, in general, and the retail sales market in particular; the ability to experience growth in the Regulated Distribution and Regulated Transmission segments and to successfully implement our revised sales strategy in the Competitive Energy Services segment; the accomplishment of our regulatory and operational goals in connection with our transmission plan and pending distribution rate cases and the effectiveness of our repositioning strategy; the impact of the regulatory process on pending matters in the various states in which we do business including, but not limited to, matters related to rates and pending rate cases, and the Electric Security Plan IV in Ohio; the impact of the federal regulatory process on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulated entities and transactions, in particular FERC regulation of wholesale energy and capacity markets, including the PJM markets and also FERC-jurisdictional wholesale transactions, FERC regulation of cost-of-service rates, including FERC Opinion No. 531's revised Return on Equity methodology for FERC-jurisdictional wholesale generation and transmission utility service and FERC's compliance and enforcement activity, including compliance and enforcement activity related to NERC's mandatory reliability standards; the uncertainties of various cost recovery and cost allocation issues resulting from American Transmission Systems, Incorporated's realignment into PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.; economic or weather conditions affecting future sales and margins such as a polar vortex or other significant weather events, and all associated regulatory events or actions; regulatory outcomes associated with storm restoration costs, including but not limited to, Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Irene and the October snowstorm of 2011; changing energy, capacity and commodity market prices including, but not limited to, coal, natural gas and oil, and their availability and impact on margins; the continued ability of our regulated utilities to recover their costs; costs being higher than anticipated and the success of our policies to control costs and to mitigate low energy, capacity and market prices; other legislative and regulatory changes, and revised environmental requirements, including, but not limited to, possible greenhouse gases emission, water discharge, and coal combustion residuals regulations, the potential impacts of Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, and the effects of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rules including our estimated costs of compliance; the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of the capital expenditures that may arise in connection with any litigation, including New Source Review litigation, or potential regulatory initiatives or rulemakings (including that such expenditures could result in our decision to deactivate or idle certain generating units); the uncertainties associated with the deactivation of certain older regulated and competitive fossil units, including the impact on vendor commitments, and the timing thereof as they relate to, among other things, Reliability Must Run arrangements and the reliability of the transmission grid; the impact of other future changes to the operational status or availability of our generating units; adverse regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes with respect to our nuclear operations (including, but not limited to the revocation or non-renewal of necessary licenses, approvals or operating permits by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or as a result of the incident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant); issues arising from the indications of cracking in the shield building at Davis-Besse; the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and like proceedings, including, but not limited to, any such proceedings related to vendor commitments; replacement power costs being higher than anticipated or not fully hedged; the ability to comply with applicable state and federal reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes in customers' demand for power, including, but not limited to, changes resulting from the implementation of state and federal energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic and financial goals, including, but not limited to, the ability to continue to reduce costs and successfully execute our announced financial plans designed to improve our credit metrics and strengthen our balance sheet through, among other actions, our previously-implemented dividend reduction and our other proposed capital raising initiatives; our ability to improve electric commodity margins and the impact of, among other factors, the increased cost of fuel and fuel transportation on such margins; changing market conditions that could affect the measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in our Nuclear Decommissioning Trusts, pension trusts and other trust funds, and cause us and/or our subsidiaries to make additional contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger than currently anticipated; the impact of changes to material accounting policies; the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with our announced financial plans, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting us and our subsidiaries; actions that may be taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect us and/or our subsidiaries' access to financing, increase the costs thereof, and increase requirements to post additional collateral to support outstanding commodity positions, letters of credit and other financial guarantees; changes in national and regional economic conditions affecting us, our subsidiaries and/or our major industrial and commercial customers and other counterparties with which we do business, including fuel suppliers; the impact of any changes in tax laws or regulations or adverse tax audit results or rulings; issues concerning the stability of domestic and foreign financial institutions and counterparties with which we do business; and the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and other similar factors. The foregoing review of factors should not be construed as exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor assess the impact of any such factor on FirstEnergy's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy expressly disclaims any current intention to update, except as required by law, any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.
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