FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company (FE PA), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) operating in western and central Pennsylvania as West Penn Power and Penn Power, recently completed an emergency preparation drill to test its storm restoration process. The exercise aimed to prepare employees for potential severe weather events that could cause outages across its extensive service area.
Participants engaged in the annual storm drill both remotely and in person at West Penn Power's Greensburg headquarters, mirroring real-life restoration activities where electronic storm tools are used to manage fieldwork. The drill focused on training employees in storm restoration duties and reviewing essential processes and tools needed for efficient power restoration.
John Hawkins, President of FirstEnergy's Pennsylvania Operations, stated: "Storm drills provide our employees a controlled, no-fault forum to practice and sharpen their skills in preparation for severe weather, including summer thunderstorms packing strong wind gusts. Regular emergency drills are another way we work to improve electric service for our customers, in addition to tree trimming and projects we do to harden our electric infrastructure and enhance its resiliency."
The primary scenario involved organized lines of powerful June thunderstorms with gusts exceeding 70 mph sweeping across Pennsylvania. These conditions led to widespread damage, affecting more than 425,000 of West Penn Power's 746,000 customers and over 100,000 of Penn Power's 173,000 customers.
Additionally, the drill included a hypothetical scenario involving significant damage to batteries, battery chargers, and other equipment at two electric substations. Participants had to devise strategies for safely restoring power without access to these substations.
West Penn Power and Penn Power activated their Incident Command System (ICS) during the drill. ICS is a nationally recognized emergency management process used by various governmental levels and non-governmental organizations to coordinate responses to major storms or natural disasters.
Following a major weather event, West Penn Power and Penn Power crews adhere to a proven restoration process prioritizing outages that restore the largest number of customers first. They prioritize hospitals, critical medical facilities, communication centers, and emergency response agencies before addressing other outages.
For further information about FirstEnergy's storm restoration process and safety tips, visit the 24/7 Power Center at firstenergycorp.com/outages.
Penn Power serves approximately 173,000 customers across six counties in western Pennsylvania. Updates can be followed on X @Penn_Power or on Facebook at facebook.com/PennPower.
West Penn Power serves around 746,000 customers in 24 counties within central and southwestern Pennsylvania. Updates can be followed on X @W_Penn_Power or on Facebook at facebook.com/WestPennPower.
FirstEnergy is committed to integrity, safety, reliability, and operational excellence. Its distribution companies form one of the largest investor-owned electric systems in the U.S., serving multiple states including Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, and New York. For more details about FirstEnergy’s operations visit firstenergycorp.com or follow them on X @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: A photo of FirstEnergy employees conducting a storm drill is available for download on Flickr.
News Media Contact: Todd Meyers (724) 838-6650; Investor Contact: Irene Prezelj (330) 384-3859