West Penn Power Earns Top Customer Engagement Honors

GREENSBURG, Pa., Feb. 13, 2020 -- West Penn Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), has been recognized by leading utility research firm Escalent as a Utility Residential Customer Champion for its top-tier success engaging with residential customers.

"We continuously work to build trust through enhanced electric service reliability, new technologies and a commitment to meet our customers' ever-changing energy needs and expectations," said John Rea, regional president of West Penn Power. "Today's utility customers expect innovation, digital convenience and proactive communications, and we're honored to be recognized as a Customer Champion for these efforts."

West Penn Power uses simple personalized channels to encourage proactive two-way communication with our customers. Customers can follow West Penn Power on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook for company news, behind-the-scenes stories, energy efficiency and electrical safety tips, and updates during major weather events. A suite of convenient tools are also available to help customers stay connected with important account and outage information, including alert and text messaging services and a responsive website.  

To reduce the number and duration of outages experienced by its customers, West Penn Power has embarked on a five-year, $147 million plan to make additional improvements above and beyond the usual work it already performs to upgrade its electric distribution networks. Such work includes replacing older poles and underground and overhead lines.

In addition, West Penn Power completed an ambitious, multi-year installation of digital smart meters in 2019 so its approximately 725,000 customers can better manage their electric use and make informed decisions about how they are using electricity. The company also offers its residential customers a broad array of energy efficiency programs from appliance rebates and lighting discounts to home energy audits. Learn more at www.EnergySavePA.com.

Escalent is a leading human behavior and analytics firm and has conducted research on utility topics for more than 30 years. This is the sixth year it has published its residential study, the only industry benchmark study on customer engagement.  

West Penn Power serves approximately 725,000 customers within in 24 counties within central and southwestern Pennsylvania. Follow West Penn Power on Twitter @W_Penn_Power and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WestPennPower.

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 approximately 24,500 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Visit FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and follow FirstEnergy and its operating companies on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp, @OhioEdison, @ToledoEdison, @IlluminatingCo, @W_Penn_Power, @Penn_Power, @Penelec, @Met_Ed, @JCP_L, @PotomacEdison, @MonPowerWV.

Editor's Note:  A photo of  the Escalent Utility Residential Customer Champion award is available for download on Flickr.