West Penn Power Hires New Graduates from FirstEnergy's Power Systems Institute Training Program

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Jun 23, 2021, 15:15 ET

GREENSBURG, Pa., June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- West Penn Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), has hired 30 new graduates from the Power Systems Institute (PSI), the company's award-winning, two-year educational program that helps train the next generation of line and substation workers for FirstEnergy's 10 electric companies.

The new employees include 22 line workers who are recent graduates of the company's PSI utility training partnership with Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood, Pennsylvania, and eight new substation electricians who graduated from the program at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

"Our PSI program has strengthened our diverse workforce pipeline and instilled safe work practices, proper work methods and teambuilding by developing the well-educated men and women needed to provide reliable power to customers, "said John Rea, regional president of West Penn Power. "We welcome these graduates joining our workforce to help continue providing safe and reliable electric service for our customers."

West Penn Power's new PSI graduates include:

Cy Bailey, Ellwood
Darin Beres, Uniontown
Michael Evans, Leetonia
Riley Gilleland, Hopwood
Corby Koleno, Bellefonte
Zachary Shiley, Farmington
Tyler Snyder, Beallsville
Zachary Stouffer, New Middleton
Cody Wise, Newton Falls
Joseph Guercio, Johnstown
Christopher Serafine, Cadogan

The PSI curriculum for lines employees requires two and a half days each week spent between Westmoreland County Community College and West Penn Power's training facility in Jeanette, Pennsylvania. The PSI curriculum for substation employees requires a half week spent at Pennsylvania Highlands and at a FirstEnergy training facility in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for hands-on learning that focuses on safe work practices and procedures in the electrical environment.

FirstEnergy is celebrating 20 years of graduates from the PSI program, which was originally developed by the company in 2000. Students who successfully complete the program earn an associate degree from an affiliated community college in their area. Since the program's inception, FirstEnergy has hired more than 2,000 line and substation personnel who completed PSI programs in Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania 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 approximately 725,000 customers in 24 counties within central and southwestern Pennsylvania. Follow West Penn Power on Twitter @W_Penn_Power and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WestPennPower.

FirstEnergy Corp. 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 and its utilities on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp, @ToledoEdison, @IlluminatingCo, @OhioEdison, @MonPowerWV, @JCP_L, @Penn_Power, @Penelec, @Met_Ed, @PotomacEdison, @W_Penn_Power.