Competitive Bidding Process to Begin for FirstEnergy
process will be conducted for FirstEnergy’s (NYSE: FE)
Edison, Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison — to
procure electric generation for delivery from
2009
supplier.
The competitive bidding process, which we believe satisfies the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission’s four-step test established in a previous order
involving Allegheny Energy, will use a Request for Proposal (RFP) format. The
RFP will be managed by CRA International, a global consulting firm with
expertise in energy markets and procurement. Individual bidders will not be
permitted to serve more than 75 percent of the companies’ load for
non-shopping retail customers. Bidders will be required to certify that they
are creditworthy, acting independently of other bidders, and making firm
offers to provide generation service to customers.
Bids are due on
first quarter. A bid process consistent with the one described above will be
conducted at a later date to meet customer supply needs beyond
The companies have set up a Web site to provide bidders with a central
source of documents, data and other information for the bidding process. This
information is available by accessing www.firstenergy-auction.com and clicking
on “Ohio RFP.” The contact for the RFP manager is
President,
RFPManager@crai.com.
The RFP is being conducted to ensure that customers have a reliable supply
of electricity following the Public Utilities Commission of
deny the companies’ Market Rate Offer filing and significantly alter their
Electric Security Plan (ESP). The companies have withdrawn their ESP
application, as allowed for under Senate Bill 221. The companies, which do
not own any electric generation, serve 2.1 million customers in
FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company headquartered in
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
comprise the nation’s fifth largest investor-owned electric system, based on
4.5 million customers served, within a 36,100-square-mile area of
14,000 megawatts of capacity.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking
statements based on information currently available to management. Such
statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. These statements
include declarations regarding management’s intents, beliefs and current
expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the
terms “anticipate,” “potential,” “expect,” “believe,” “estimate” and similar
words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from any future
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-
looking statements. Actual results may differ materially due to the speed and
nature of increased competition in the electric utility industry and
legislative and regulatory changes affecting how generation rates will be
determined following the expiration of existing rate plans in
Companies associated with the Electric Security Plan and Market Rate Offer
filings, including any resultant mechanism under which rates charged to retail
customers may not fully recover the costs of energy supply, or the outcome of
any competitive procurement process in
provide energy supply for their customers, economic or weather conditions
affecting future sales and margins, changes in markets for energy services,
changing energy and commodity market prices and availability, replacement
power costs being higher than anticipated or inadequately hedged, the
continued ability of FirstEnergy’s regulated utilities to collect transition
and other charges or to recover increased transmission costs, maintenance
costs being higher than anticipated, other legislative and regulatory changes,
revised environmental requirements, including possible greenhouse gas emission
regulations, the impact of the U.S. Court of Appeals’
to vacate the CAIR rules and the scope of any laws, rules or regulations that
may ultimately take their place, the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of
the capital expenditures needed to, among other things, implement the Air
Quality Compliance Plan (including that such amounts could be higher than
anticipated) or levels of emission reductions related to the Consent Decree
resolving the New Source Review litigation or other potential regulatory
initiatives, adverse regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes (including,
but not limited to, the revocation of necessary licenses or operating permits
and oversight) by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (including, but not
limited to, the Demand for Information issued to FENOC on
timing and outcome of various proceedings before the PUCO (including, but not
limited to, the Electric Security Plan and Market Rate Offer proceedings as
well as the distribution rate cases and the generation supply plan filing for
the Ohio Companies and the successful resolution of the issues remanded to the
PUCO by the Ohio Supreme Court regarding the Rate Stabilization Plan and the
Rate Certainty Plan, including the recovery of deferred fuel costs), Met-Ed’s
and Penelec’s transmission service charge filings with the PPUC (as well as
the resolution of the Petitions for Review filed with the Commonwealth Court
of
Penelec), the continuing availability of generating units and their ability to
operate at or near full capacity, the ability to comply with applicable state
and federal reliability standards, the ability to accomplish or realize
anticipated benefits from strategic goals (including employee workforce
initiatives), the ability to improve electric commodity margins and to
experience growth in the distribution business, the changing market conditions
that could affect the value of assets held in FirstEnergy’s nuclear
decommissioning trusts, pension trusts and other trust funds, and cause
FirstEnergy to make additional contributions sooner, or in an amount that is
larger than currently anticipated, the ability to access the public securities
and other capital and credit markets in accordance with FirstEnergy’s
financing plan and the cost of such capital, changes in general economic
conditions affecting FirstEnergy, the state of the capital and credit markets
affecting FirstEnergy, and the risks and other factors discussed from time to
time in its SEC filings, and other similar factors. The foregoing review of
factors should not be construed as exhaustive. New factors emerge from time
to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors,
nor assess the impact of any such factor on our business or the extent to
which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ
materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy
expressly disclaims any current intention to update any forward-looking
statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
SOURCE FirstEnergy