FirstEnergy Pennsylvania has announced several recent and upcoming initiatives aimed at improving the reliability of its electric service across the state. In a message to customers, John Hawkins, President of FirstEnergy Pennsylvania, highlighted system upgrades and community support efforts undertaken over the past year.
According to Hawkins, the company made targeted investments in 2025 that included replacing aging equipment in northern and central Pennsylvania, rebuilding a section of the grid in western Pennsylvania, and constructing a new substation in eastern Pennsylvania to address growing demand. These infrastructure improvements are part of an ongoing effort to enhance service reliability and reduce outages for customers.
The company reported measurable results from these efforts. “In 2025, 13% fewer customers were impacted by outages compared to 2024,” Hawkins stated. He also noted that “the average outage length decreased by 27 minutes in 2025 compared to the previous year” and that “more than 3,500 smart devices were installed in 2025 to limit the number of customers impacted by an outage and get the lights back on faster.”
Looking forward, FirstEnergy Pennsylvania is working on additional projects including a new substation and transmission line intended to support key community infrastructure, grid updates for thousands of customers in Westmoreland County, and rebuilding a transmission line designed to withstand severe weather conditions.
Beyond infrastructure upgrades, Hawkins emphasized the company’s commitment to supporting local communities through volunteer work by employees and donations from the FirstEnergy Foundation. The foundation recently provided its largest hunger-relief grant so far—$750,000 distributed among 37 food banks and pantries throughout Pennsylvania—which will provide about two million meals for residents facing food insecurity. Other grants have supported organizations such as IM ABLE and United Way. A $25,000 grant was also awarded to Fill a Glass with Hope as part of ten years of ongoing support for this program that supplies fresh milk to food banks.
“It is a privilege to be your local electric company. We look forward to continuing to support you and your families, businesses and communities this year and every year,” Hawkins said.
