STRATEGIC PLAN
Inspired by open and ongoing dialogue with diverse stakeholders, FirstEnergy is experiencing a period of growth and renewal. We are embracing pivotal changes within our operations and culture that are energizing our company as we further our transformation into a forward-thinking, premium utility.
Guided by our Core Values, we are focused on building a diverse workforce whose business practices are centered on a best-in-class ethics and compliance program. Together, we are cultivating a safe and inclusive company culture where all employees – regardless of role, seniority or tenure – feel empowered and motivated to raise concerns, ask questions and contribute their thoughts and ideas.
Throughout this cultural transformation, FirstEnergy has maintained strong operational and financial performance, leaving us well positioned to capitalize on long-term, sustainable investments designed to serve over 6 million customers' evolving energy needs while growing value for shareholders. Our sustainable investment plan targets 75% formula rate recovery and aligns our annual rate base growth and earnings growth rate with premium utilities, leading to a competitive dividend and investment-grade credit ratings, while focusing on growing cash from operations consistent with earnings.
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FE Forward initiatives continue to modernize our company – driving us to enhance business practices and accelerate our digital transformation. Building on our proven track record of safety and performance excellence, we're developing ways to increase efficiency and optimize how we manage our assets and resources, while maintaining a sharp focus on customer satisfaction and service reliability.
Using a data-driven approach, we're building a best-in-class customer experience that will help them explore renewable energy choices, adopt electric vehicles, manage energy use, report outages and navigate payment assistance programs. We're also improving customer interactions with our contact centers and multiple digital channels, expanding payment options and continuing to support our low-income customers' needs throughout the transition to a reduced carbon future.
Dedicated to continual improvement and innovation, FirstEnergy is poised to unlock significant growth opportunities that are embedded in a decarbonized economy. We've identified significant long-term infrastructure investment opportunities to enhance our transmission system and support our role in the clean energy transition, including investments that facilitate electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, renewable energy integration, grid reliability and resiliency.
With renewed commitment to transparency, compliance and ethics, and unwavering commitment to our customers, FirstEnergy strives to emerge as an industry-leader, lighting the way toward a low carbon future and continued success.
BUILDING A PREMIUM UTILITY
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A Strong FoundationBuilt by passionate and engaged employees
A CULTURE OF ETHICS AND INTEGRITY
A trusted partner to our stakeholdersBuilding a compliance program focused on ethics, integrity, transparency and accountability- Established a Compliance Subcommittee to oversee the assessment of improvements in FE's compliance program
- Appointed 5 new independent directors and hired senior leaders with unwavering commitment to integrity
- Added a new Ethics and Compliance component to our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Delivered various compliance trainings throughout 2021
- Hosted several town hall meetings with all employees to reinforce integrity is integral to FE's values and success
- Remediated the material weakness in internal controls associated with our tone at the top
- Revised Code of Business Conduct
- Began publishing a new quarterly Corporate Engagement report on our Corporate Responsibility website
- Rated a Trendsetter in 2021 & 2022 CPA-Zicklin Index
- New policy and practice regarding political contributions and ballot initiative expenditures: focus on issues with significant impact on FE and our customers; aligned with our core values and strategic priorities
A SAFE WORKPLACE
Where all employees take responsibility for safety and well-being
Leading with safety; commit to creating a working environment that helps ensure every employee returns home safely every day
- Safety is a core value embedded in our culture
- Employees receive safety training to improve job site exposure identification, communication and mitigation to prevent life-changing events
- Enhanced safety protocols regarding COVID-19
- Safety KPI metrics represent 15% of STIP
A DIVERSE, EQUITABLE & INCLUSIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT
Empowering all employees
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is a core value and foundational to everything we do- Provide ongoing training, education and dialogue forums on a variety of DEI topics for employees and leaders
- DEI KPI metrics represent 15% of STIP
- Aspire to achieve a 30% increase in the number of racially and ethnically diverse employees by 2025
A FOCUS ON ACCOUNTABILITY TO STAKEHOLDERS
Driving performance excellence
Focusing on investment-grade ratings to support investments and earnings growth- Cash Flow KPI to reinforce emphasis on cash
- $3.4B equity financing transactions eliminate equity needs and support incremental investments
- 13% FFO-to-Debt no later than 2024; targeting mid-teens thereafter
A COMMITMENT TO STEWARDSHIP
Valuing our customers, communities and the environment
Valuing our customers, communities and the environment- Achieve carbon neutrality by 2050; 30% reduction by 2030 (from 2019 baseline)
- 20% reduction in water consumption at our two fossil fuel plants by 2030
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A Customer-Centered FocusExceeding expectations through modern experiences, electrification and affordable energy bills
TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL UPGRADES
To enhance the customer experience, expand communications channels and improve satisfactionSimplify the customer payment process and incorporate more innovative and self-service support functionalities- Diverse billing and payment options, web chat capabilities, and timely alerts and notifications
- Outage notifications and two-way interactions
NEW PROGRAMS FOCUSED ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
To drive electrification
Economy-wide electrification to reduce carbon emissions and power a more sustainable future
- EV Charging Infrastructure programs (NJ & MD)
- Exploring opportunities with customers and regulators to achieve their renewable goals
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS, SOLUTIONS AND TOOLS
To fulfill our customers’ energy needs
Promote energy efficiency and smart meter programs and infrastructure to help customers conserve energy- Advocate for customer programs that promote energy efficiency, conservation, demand-side management, and smart meters
- 2.7M smart meters in-service; 4M by 2025 (PA, NJ, OH)
- Energy efficiency & conservation programs to help customer reduce consumption and peak demand (PA, NJ, MD)
VALUE-DRIVEN INVESTMENTS AND OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
to lower total energy bills
Focus on customer rates and affordability of total energy bills- Average Annual Residential Bill increase of ~0.5% since 2011
- Average-to-below average customer rates in all jurisdictions we operate
- Focusing on prudent operating expenses through FE Forward and making the right investments for customers
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Enabling the Energy TransitionStrategic investments for a clean, reliable, resilient and secure grid
CUSTOMER-FOCUSED INVESTMENTS
That support a secure electric grid, reduce service interruptions and enable electrification and other clean energy trendsAdvanced technology investments to make improve grid reliability, resiliency, and security- Solar generation projects – West Virginia
- Pilot programs – Maryland Battery Storage
- Implementing system integration, automation and mobility tools
- Investing in innovation and continuous improvement
TRANSMISSION INVESTMENTS THAT EMBRACE INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
To support grid reliability, resiliency and carbon neutrality goals
Support the global energy transition to renewable resources
- JCP&L offshore wind project
- Transmission upgrades to support existing generation retirements and incremental renewable generation
- Stakeholder dialogue regarding planned operational end dates for Fort Martin (2035) and Harrison (2040)
- Energizing the Future Program
DISTRIBUTION INVESTMENTS
To build the grid of the future and leverage advanced metering infrastructure and grid modernization projects that automate and optimize our infrastructureDigital tools and solutions to drive performance excellence- Grid Modernization – Distribution Automation & Volt Var Optimization
- Advanced Distribution Management System
- AMI/Smart Meter deployment