IBEW Local 459 Ratifies Three-Year Contract With Penelec (strike ends for 517 members)

[Omaha Steve]

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-17-2009/0005061770&EDATE=

READING, Pa., July 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) announced today that employees of its Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec) represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 459 ratified a three-year contract agreement and will return to work on Monday, July 20. Union members had been on strike since May 21, 2009. The previous contract had expired May 14, 2009.


"We are pleased that a new contract has been ratified so we can all continue to focus on our most important job - providing Penelec customers with the high-quality service they expect and deserve," said James Napier, Penelec Regional President.


IBEW Local 459 represents 517 Penelec linemen, substation electricians, meter readers and support personnel in the Erie, Towanda, Clearfield, Johnstown, and Oil City areas. Penelec is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. and serves more than 590,000 customers in 31 Pennsylvania counties.


FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Its subsidiaries and affiliates are involved in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, as well as energy management and other energy-related services. Its seven electric utility operating companies, including Penelec, comprise the nation's fifth largest electric system, based on 4.5 million customers served within a 36,100-square-mile area of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey; and its generation subsidiaries control more than 14,000 megawatts of capacity.