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Ceremony Recognizes Historic Role of Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation Plant

Posted on: Tuesday, 8 November 2005, 15:00 CST

Nov. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC) today hosted a ceremony recognizing the historic and pioneering role the Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation Plant played in the development of the commercial nuclear power industry.

Former Saxton plant employees, and officials from FENOC, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the American Nuclear Society (ANS) and local and state governments gathered at the former Saxton site in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, to mark the facility's final chapter.

Construction of the $8.5 million plant began in the late 1950s by Westinghouse, under the auspices of the Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation, and it began generating electricity in 1962. For the next ten years, the 23.5-megawatt Saxton plant served as a research and training facility for scientists, engineers and nuclear plant operators, worldwide, all looking for ways to improve the safety and reliability of nuclear generating facilities. At the time, there were only four other nuclear reactors operating in the U.S.

In 1972, Saxton, having served its purpose, was shutdown and mothballed. Decommissioning began in 1998, when the reactor vessel, steam generator and pressurizer were removed and shipped by rail to a special disposal facility in Barnwell, South Carolina. The physical decommissioning process was completed in 2005, with the site returned to its natural state. The NRC recently terminated the plant's operating license, the final step in the decommissioning process. Ownership of the 150-acre site will revert to Pennsylvania Electric Company, a FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiary.

In 2003, the ANS Board of Directors approved the Saxton facility as an historic landmark. The ANS designation identifies and memorializes sites where outstanding accomplishments took place that advanced the development and implementation of nuclear technology and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Saxton was specifically recognized for the pioneering innovation in each phase of its existence - design, construction, operation, training, decommissioning and license termination.

FENOC is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., a registered public utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. FENOC operates the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio; the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry, Ohio; and the Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. FirstEnergy Corp. acquired the Saxton plant as part of its 2001 merger with GPU, Inc.

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 typically contain, but are not limited to, the terms "anticipate,""potential,""expect,""believe,""estimate" and similar words. Actual results may differ materially due to the speed and nature of increased competition and deregulation in the electric utility industry, economic or weather conditions affecting future sales and margins, changes in markets for energy services, changing energy and commodity market prices, replacement power costs being higher than anticipated or inadequately hedged, the continued ability of our regulated utilities to collect transition and other charges or to recover increased transmission costs, maintenance costs being higher than anticipated, legislative and regulatory changes (including revised environmental requirements), the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of the capital expenditures (including that such amounts could be higher than anticipated) or levels of emission reductions related to the settlement agreement resolving the New Source Review litigation, adverse regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes (including, but not limited to, the revocation of necessary licenses or operating permits, fines or other enforcement actions and remedies) of governmental investigations and oversight, including by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the United States Attorney's Office and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as disclosed in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, generally, and with respect to the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station outage and heightened scrutiny at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in particular, the availability and cost of capital, rising interest rates and other inflationary trends, the continuing availability and operation of generating units, the ability of our generating units to continue to operate at or near full capacity, our inability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits of strategic goals (including the proposed transfer of nuclear generation assets), our ability to improve electric commodity margins and to experience growth in the distribution business, any decision of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission regarding the plan filed by Penn Power on October 11, 2005 to secure electricity supply for its customers at a set rate, our ability to access the public securities and other capital markets, the outcome, cost and other effects of present and potential legal and administrative proceedings and claims related to the August 14, 2003 regional power outage, the final outcome in the proceeding related to FirstEnergy's Application for a Rate Stabilization Plan (RSP) in Ohio, specifically, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio's acceptance of the September 9, 2005 proposed supplement to the RSP, the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 2004, and other similar factors. FirstEnergy expressly disclaims any current intention to update any forward- looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company

CONTACT: Media, Todd Schneider of FirstEnergy Corp., +1-330-620-2895

Web site: http://www.firstenergycorp.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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