AKRON, Ohio, April 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) announced today that Mark T. Clark, executive vice president Strategic Planning and Operations, was elected executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO), effective May 1, 2009. Richard H. Marsh, senior vice president and CFO, has elected to retire on July 1, 2009. "Mark has played a key role in helping to shape our company, from his efforts to divest non-core assets following our mergers, to his focus on strategic planning and leading change throughout our organization," said Anthony J. Alexander, president and chief executive officer of FirstEnergy. "I know Mark will bring the same drive and determination to his new role as CFO as he has to all of his work at FirstEnergy." Clark will maintain responsibility for Strategic Planning, Business Performance, Rates and Regulatory Affairs, Supply Chain and financial oversight of power generation and commodity supply groups. His new responsibility areas include Investor Relations, Corporate Risk, Treasury, Controllers and other functions currently under Marsh. "Rich is a consummate professional, and has been a trusted voice of FirstEnergy to the investment community and a valued member of our senior management team," said Alexander. "He has led our financial groups through two mergers and numerous changes in financial reporting regulations and requirements. Rich has served as FirstEnergy's CFO for more than a decade and he certainly will be missed." "These changes also will bring together separate financial functions to better align strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting with financial reporting, investments and capital management," said Alexander. Marsh said, "I've enjoyed my 29 years with the company and have been privileged to serve as CFO since 1998. Despite the ups and downs of our dynamic industry, our company has built a solid base for continued success. I'll always value my experiences here and have been honored to work with many dedicated employees." Clark joined the company in 1976 and has held a number of positions in financial and operating areas, including treasurer, division manager for the Akron and Springfield areas, and director of Marketing. He was promoted to vice president of Business Development in 2001, senior vice president of Strategic Planning and Operations in 2004 and executive vice president in 2008. Clark graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of science degree and earned a master of business administration degree from The University of Akron, where he also was honored with the Dr. Frank L. Simonetti Distinguished Business Alumni Award. He completed the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Graduate School of Business. Clark is on the Ohio Governor's Council of Economic Advisors, the Akron/Canton Airport Authority, the board of directors of the Akron General Health System, and The University of Akron National Alumni Board. Marsh joined the company in 1980 and has served in a number of positions in the financial areas. He was named treasurer in 1991, vice president of Finance in 1997, vice president and CFO in 1998 and to his current position in 2001. He is responsible for Accounting, Auditing, Benefit Investment, Investor Relations, Enterprise Risk Management and Treasury. Marsh received a bachelor of arts degree from Kent State University, and a master of arts and master of business administration from The University of Akron. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the Cleveland Society of Security Analysts, and holds a Certificate in Management Accounting. Marsh is a member of the board of Energy Insurance Mutual and a member representative of Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited. He is chairman of the board of directors of Summa Health System and a member of the Advancement Council of the College of Business Administration at The University of Akron. 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 4.5 million customers served, within a 36,100-square-mile area of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey; and its generation subsidiaries control more than 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 our 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 Ohio and Pennsylvania, the impact of the PUCO's regulatory process on the Ohio Companies associated with the ESP and MRO filings, including any resultant mechanism under which the Ohio Companies may not fully recover costs (including, but not limited to, the costs of generation supply procured by the Ohio Companies, Regulatory Transition Charges and fuel charges), or the outcome of any competitive generation procurement process in Ohio, 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 potential impacts of the U.S. Court of Appeals' July 11, 2008 decision requiring revisions to 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 AQC Plan (including that such amounts could be higher than anticipated or that certain generating units may need to be shut down) or levels of emission reductions related to the Consent Decree resolving the NSR 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 NRC (including, but not limited to, the Demand for Information issued to FENOC on May 14, 2007), the timing and outcome of various proceedings before the PUCO (including, but not limited to 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 RSP and the RCP, including the recovery of deferred fuel costs), Met-Ed's and Penelec's transmission service charge filings with the PPUC, 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 it 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 the company, the state of the capital and credit markets affecting the company, interest rates and any actions taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect FirstEnergy's access to financing or its costs and increase its requirements to post additional collateral to support outstanding commodity positions, letters of credit and other financial guarantees, the continuing decline of the national and regional economy and its impact on FirstEnergy's major industrial and commercial customers, issues concerning the soundness of financial institutions and counterparties with which FirstEnergy does business, 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 its 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. DATASOURCE: FirstEnergy Corp. CONTACT: Media: Ellen Raines, +1-330-384-5808; Investor Relations: Ron Seeholzer, +1-330-384-5415, both of FirstEnergy Corp. Web Site: http://www.firstenergycorp.com/

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