Ohio Edison, Penn Power Add New Line and Substation Workers from Power Systems Institute Training Programs

AKRON, Ohio, June 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohio Edison and Pennsylvania Power (Penn Power), FirstEnergy Corp. FE utilities, have hired 54 graduates of the companies' utility worker training programs as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance service reliability for customers in northeast Ohio.

The new line workers represent the first graduating class since the Power Systems Institute (PSI) training program was reinstituted by FirstEnergy at Stark State College in North Canton and Kent State University at Trumbull in Warren in 2014.

"The PSI program is an effective pipeline for adding well-trained, highly skilled employees to our workforce," said Randall Frame, regional president of Ohio Edison and Penn Power.  "The rigorous class work and experience gained in the field by working with veteran line and substation personnel helps ensure safe and reliable electric service for our customers, now and in the future." 

The new Ohio Edison lines employees listed by work location, with their hometowns, are:

• Akron – Tyler Agosta, Akron; Joshua Beddow, Wadsworth; Chris Collmar, Canal Fulton; Nick Daerr, Wadsworth; Todd Schafer, Tallmadge.
• Alliance – Aaron Merill, Leetonia; Corey Wellendorf, Salem.
• Elyria – Michael Luccio, Creston; Brock Maxwell, Burbank.
• Kent – Kenneth Shircliff, Atwater.
• Kinsman – Jared Cain, Cortland; Brandon Janosik, Warren.
• Macedonia – Andrew Jones, Hartville.
• Marion – Eric Brown, Mansfield; Chad Bucher, Brewster; Josh Craft, Butler; Carter Casperd, Brewster; Clayton Wheeler, Navarre.
• Medina – Jeff Vorndran, Medina.  
• North Jackson – Caleb Spalding, North Jackson; Dan Zilke, Berlin Center.
• Salem – Dustin Greenawalt, Alliance; Josh Owen, Homeworth; Matt Richards, Salem.
• Sandusky – Matt Bair, Navarre.
• Springfield – Austin Butler, Springfield; Jared Isham, Springfield; Mason Sanders, Springfield.
• Warren – Jeff Dawson, North Jackson; Conner Griffin, Warren.
• Youngstown – Daniel Annichenni, Canfield; Nick Conti, Hubbard; Dustin Elder, Salem; Steven Ortz, Youngstown.

The new Ohio Edison substation employees listed by work location, with their hometowns, are:

• Akron – Adam Hoch, Canal Fulton; John Layne, Doylestown; Doug Vujas, Atwater.
• Elyria – Christopher Avolt, Valparaiso, Ind.; Jordan White, Lorain.
• Springfield – Daniel Podnar, Cardington.
• Youngstown – Anthony Lawrence, Jr., Youngstown; Robert McCullough, Jr., Youngstown.
• Warren – Jessica Scharrer, Kinsman, Warren;

The new Penn Power lines employees listed by work location, with their hometowns, are:

• Clark – Paul Greathouse, Hubbard.
• Cranberry – Alex Grantonic, New Middletown; Jeramy Laird, Hermitage; Joseph Lebenich, Campbell; Jared Musial, Poland; Bill Seidler, Girard; Cory Stouffer, Middletown; Zebulun Vialpando, New Castle.

The new Penn Power substation electrician employees listed by work location, with their hometowns, are:

• New Castle – Devin Green, Maury; Joshua Johnson, Greenville; William Platt, Jr., New Castle.  

PSI is an award-winning, two-year educational program originally developed by FirstEnergy in 2000 to help prepare the company's next generation of utility line and substation workers.

PSI students split time between classes at Stark State and Kent State Trumbull and Ohio Edison training facilities in Massillon and Warren.  Since the program's inception, FirstEnergy has hired nearly 1,500 line and substation personnel who completed PSI programs in Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

For information about the PSI program, call 1-800-829-6801, or go to www.firstenergycorp.com/psi.

Ohio Edison is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. and serves more than one million customers across 34 Ohio counties.  Follow Ohio Edison on Twitter @OhioEdison, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/OhioEdison, and online at www.ohioedison.com.  Follow Penn Power on Twitter @Penn Power, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PennPower, and online at www.pennpower.com.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence.  Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York.  The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.  Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com.  Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

Editor's Note:  Photos of FirstEnergy Power Systems Institute graduates are available upon request.

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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.