FAIRMONT, W.Va., April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is teaming up with the West Virginia Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs (HHOMA) to promote job opportunities to minority candidates and identify minority-owned businesses for its supplier diversity program.

FirstEnergy will coordinate with the state agency on a weekly basis to share employment opportunities at the company that will be disseminated by HHOMA to minority job seekers in West Virginia. The company currently has job openings in meter reading, engineering, transmission and at its regulated generation fleet.

"Becoming a more diverse and inclusive company is an important part of our strategic plan, and we appreciate the opportunity to work with HHOMA to increase awareness about job opportunities at FirstEnergy through this new initiative," said Jim Myers, president of West Virginia operations at FirstEnergy.

Last year, FirstEnergy announced a goal to increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse employees by 30% by 2025 to accelerate the company's efforts to build a diverse, high-performing and innovative workforce that better reflects the diversity of the customers it serves.

According to a 2021 study prepared for the National Association of State Energy Officials by BW Research Partnership, the energy sector has below-average representation of Hispanic or Latinx workers and Black or African American workers. Eight percent of energy workers are Black or African American compared to a 12% national workforce average. Similarly, Hispanic or Latinx individuals comprise 16% of energy workers despite representing 18% of the national labor force.

FirstEnergy also committed to achieving 20% of its supply chain spend with diverse suppliers by 2025. The company will work with HHOMA to identify minority-owned businesses in West Virginia that might qualify for its supplier diversity program, which is designed to strengthen economic development and viability for all businesses. FirstEnergy will participate in HHOMA's annual Minority Expo, taking place virtually on April 28, to provide minority-owned businesses with information on how they can become a supplier. For more information on FirstEnergy's supplier diversity program, visit www.firstenergycorp.com/supplychain.

In 2021, FirstEnergy was recognized by DiversityInc as one of the top utilities in the nation for its workforce diversity and inclusion initiatives for the third consecutive year. FirstEnergy was also included on DiversityInc's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Philanthropy lists.

Operating under the office of the Governor of West Virginia, the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs is committed to serving and assisting all underserved citizens across the state and developing innovative ways to address issues affecting minority populations through conversation, education, leadership and collaboration. To find out more, visit www.minorityaffairs.wv.gov.

Through its Mon Power and Potomac Edison subsidiaries, FirstEnergy serves about 546,000 customers in West Virginia. Follow Mon Power at www.mon-power.com, on Twitter @MonPowerWV, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MonPowerWV. Follow Potomac Edison at www.potomacedison.com, on Twitter @PotomacEdison, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PotomacEdison.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, 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 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements include declarations regarding management's intents, beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the terms "anticipate," "potential," "expect," "forecast," "target," "will," "intend," "believe," "project," "estimate," "plan" 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, which may include the following the potential liabilities, increased costs and unanticipated developments resulting from government investigations and agreements, including those associated with compliance with or failure to comply with the Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio; the risks and uncertainties associated with government investigations and audits regarding Ohio House Bill 6, as passed by Ohio's 133rd General Assembly ("HB 6") and related matters, including potential adverse impacts on federal or state regulatory matters, including, but not limited to, matters relating to rates; the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation, and similar proceedings, particularly regarding HB 6 related matters, including risks associated with obtaining court approval of the definitive settlement agreement in the derivative shareholder lawsuits; weather conditions, such as temperature variations and severe weather conditions, or other natural disasters affecting future operating results and associated regulatory actions or outcomes in response to such conditions; legislative and regulatory developments, including, but not limited to, matters related to rates, compliance and enforcement activity, cybersecurity, and climate change; the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from our FE Forward initiative and our other strategic and financial goals, including, but not limited to, overcoming current uncertainties and challenges associated with the ongoing government investigations, executing our transmission and distribution investment plans, greenhouse gas reduction goals, controlling costs, improving our credit metrics, growing earnings, strengthening our balance sheet, and satisfying the conditions necessary to close the sale of the minority interest in FirstEnergy Transmission, LLC; the risks associated with cyber-attacks and other disruptions to our, or our vendors', information technology system, which may compromise our operations, and data security breaches of sensitive data, intellectual property and proprietary or personally identifiable information; mitigating exposure for remedial activities associated with retired and formerly owned electric generation assets; the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with our financial plans, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting us, including the increasing number of financial institutions evaluating the impact of climate change on their investment decisions; the extent and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related impacts to our business, operations and financial condition resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19 including, but not limited to, disruption of businesses in our territories, supply chain disruptions, additional costs, workforce impacts and governmental and regulatory responses to the pandemic, such as moratoriums on utility disconnections and workforce vaccination mandates; actions that may be taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect either our access to or terms of financing or our financial condition and liquidity; changes in assumptions regarding factors such as economic conditions within our territories, the reliability of our transmission and distribution system, or the availability of capital or other resources supporting identified transmission and distribution investment opportunities; changes in customers' demand for power, including, but not limited to, economic conditions, the impact of climate change, or energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes in national and regional economic conditions, including recession and inflationary pressure, affecting us and/or our customers and those vendors with which we do business; the potential of non-compliance with debt covenants in our credit facilities; the ability to comply with applicable reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes to environmental laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, those related to climate change; changing market conditions affecting the measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in our pension trusts, or causing us to make contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger, than currently anticipated; labor disruptions by our unionized workforce; changes to significant accounting policies; any changes in tax laws or regulations, or adverse tax audit results or rulings; the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings. Dividends declared from time to time on FirstEnergy Corp.'s common stock during any period may in the aggregate vary from prior periods due to circumstances considered by FirstEnergy Corp.'s Board of Directors at the time of the actual declarations. A security rating is not a recommendation to buy or hold securities and is subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. Each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating.

These forward-looking statements are also qualified by, and should be read together with, the risk factors included in FirstEnergy Corp.'s filings with the SEC, including, but not limited to, the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Current Reports on Form 8-K. The foregoing review of factors also 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 FirstEnergy Corp.'s 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 Corp. expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise, except as required by law, any forward-looking statements contained herein or in the information incorporated by reference as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.