FirstEnergy Companies to Add More Than 400 Vehicles to Fleet This Year
Published in: PR Newswire
Date: 2/16/2005
FirstEnergy Corp. announced that it is ordering 440 new vehicles, including 126 bucket trucks costing an average of $100,000 each. The new vehicles, which will be placed into service in 2005, are part of FirstEnergy’s plan to spend approximately $1 billion this year on improvements and daily operations for its electric utility companies. The company also will be ordering a similar number of vehicles in 2006 and 2007.
The new vehicles will replace the oldest ones at FirstEnergy’s seven electric utility operating companies — Ohio Edison, The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison, Pennsylvania Power, Metropolitan Edison, Pennsylvania Electric Company, and Jersey Central Power & Light.
“These vehicles represent an investment in our service fleet in excess of $90 million for 2005 through 2007,” said Dick Grigg, executive vice president and chief operating officer of FirstEnergy. “While that is a sizeable investment, it is just part of our overall effort to enhance service. Many of our investments are targeted at our core electric business, including expanding distribution automation, replacing underground distribution lines, upgrading substations and related equipment, and further accelerating our vegetation management program.”
The new vehicles include:
– 86 material handling line trucks — Bucket trucks equipped with a jib
and winch, giving them the ability to raise and lower transformers or
other needed materials for construction and maintenance projects. They
cost approximately $110,000 per vehicle.
– 40 trouble trucks — These bucket trucks, which cost approximately
$90,000 each, are used by linemen and troubleshooters, who typically
are the first responders to an outage. They will feature computerized
mapping equipment to help crews locate outage sites more quickly.
– 42 utility service trucks — Trucks without buckets that are workshops
on wheels and used primarily by substation personnel and mechanics in
the field. The cost per vehicle is about $50,000.
– 39 digger derricks — These specialized crane trucks, which cost
approximately $120,000 per vehicle, are equipped with mobile drilling
equipment designed to replace damaged utility poles.
– 233 pickups and vans, ranging in price from $17,000 to $25,000 each,
will be used by meter readers, meter services, line workers, and
substation personnel.
The new vehicles will have engines with computerized controls and drive components that will provide superior fuel efficiency, better performance, and lower emissions.
“These vehicles will enhance the productivity of our highly skilled workforce and are visible signs that we are taking important steps to help meet and exceed our customers’ expectations for safe, reliable electric service,” said Charles E. Jones, Jr., senior vice president for Energy Delivery and Customer Service for FirstEnergy.
Because of the highly specialized design of the bucket, utility service and digger derrick vehicles, it typically takes from six to eight months for delivery of a vehicle after it has been ordered. As a result, while some of the vans and pickup trucks will arrive this spring, the bulk of the large vehicles will be delivered in the third and fourth quarters of 2005.
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 comprise the nation’s fifth largest investor-owned electric system, based on 4.4 million customers served within a 36,100-square-mile area of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Forward-Looking Statement: 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, maintenance costs being higher than anticipated, legislative and regulatory changes (including revised environmental requirements), adverse regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes (including revocation of necessary licenses or operating permits, fines or other enforcement actions and remedies) of government investigations, 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 in particular, the availability and cost of capital, the continuing availability and operation of generating units, our inability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic goals, our ability to improve electric commodity margins and to experience growth in the distribution business, our ability to access the public securities and other capital markets, further investigation into the causes of the August 14, 2003 regional power outage and the outcome, cost and other effects of present and potential legal and administrative proceedings and claims related to the outage, the final outcome in the proceeding related to FirstEnergy’s Application for a Rate Stabilization Plan in Ohio, the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and other similar factors. We expressly disclaim any current intention to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
CONTACT: News Media, Mark Durbin of FirstEnergy Corp., +1-330-761-4365
Web site: https://www.firstenergycorp.com/
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