## FirstEnergy Corp. For Release : November 18, 2011 76 South Main Street Akron, Ohio 44308 www.firstenergycorp.com

News Media Contact: Investor Contact: Mark Durbin Irene Prezelj (330) 761-4365 (330) 384-3859



# FirstEnergy Solutions Successfully Concludes Emission Allowance Auction

Akron, Ohio – FirstEnergy Solutions, a s ubsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), announced that it has successfully conc luded its competitive bidding auction for sulfur dioxide (SO 2 

## ) and nitrogen oxides (NO X 

## ) emission allowances for 2012 and 2013.

The November 17, 2011, auction, which was managed by CRA International, involved emission allowances from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recently enacted Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR).

“The auction allowed us to take advantage of the excess CSAPR SO 2 

## and NO X 

## emission allowances we had as a result of th e previous environmental control investments we have made across our generating fleet,” said Donald Schneider, President of FirstEnergy Solutions. “We are pleased with the results of our fi rst emission allowance auction and are making plans to hold a second auction no later than April 30, 2012.”

An ascending-price clock auction format was used, with various amounts of each of the following products offered for sale:

 CSAPR SO 2 

## Allowances for 2012

 CSAPR SO 2 

## Allowances for 2013

 CSAPR Annual NO X 

## Allowances for 2012

 CSAPR Annual NO X 

## Allowances for 2013

 CSAPR Seasonal NO X 

## Allowances for 2012

 CSAPR Seasonal NO X 

## Allowances for 2013

## 2

Four of the six products offered clear ed above our minimum prices. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the auction process and the liquidity of the CSAPR

market.

Additional details about the second Firs tEnergy Solutions emission allowance auction, planned for no later than April 30, 201 2, will be listed on an information website

– www.fescsaprauction.info

.

About CSAPR Beginning in 2012, the EPA set an annual limit for SO 2 

## and NO X 

## for each of the 28 states covered by CSAPR. As part of the program, all generating units above 25 megawatts are allocated a set am ount of emission allowances for SO 2 

## and NO X 

## beginning in 2012. Each allowance awarded to a company allows it to emit one ton of

SO 2 

## or NO X 

## .

Similar cap and trade allowance programs have been used successfully over the years to reduce power plant emissions in th e United States. Units that reduce their emissions below the allocated number of allowances may trade with other units in their generating system or sell the allowances to other power plant operators on the open

market.

FirstEnergy is a diversifie d energy company dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric dist ribution companies comprise the nation’s largest investor-owned electric system. Its diverse generating fleet features non-emitting nuclear, scrubbed baseload co al, natural gas, and pump ed-storage hydro and other renewables, and has a total generatin g capacity of nearly 23,000 megawatts.

Forward-Looking Statement: This news release includes forward-looking st atements based on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. These statements include declarations regarding management’s inte nts, beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically contain, butare not limited to, the terms “anticipate,” “potential,” “expect,” “believe,” “estimate” and similar words. Forwardlooking statements involve estimates, a ssumptions, known and unknown risks, uncerta inties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be mate rially different from any futu re results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking st atements. Actual results may differ materially due to: the

## 3

speed and nature of increased competition in the electric util ity industry, the impact of the regulatory process on the pending matters in the various states in which we do business including, but not limited to, matters related to rates, the status of the PATH project in light of PJM’s direction to suspend work on the project pending review of its planning process, its re-evaluation of the need for the project and the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of any related capital expenditures, business and regulatory imp acts from ATSI’s realignment into PJM Interconnection, L.L.C., economic or weather conditions affecting future sales and margins, cha nges in markets for energy services, changing energy and commodity market prices and availability, financial derivative reforms that could increase our liquidity needs and collateral costs, the continued ability of FirstEnergy’s regulated utilities to collect transition and other costs, operation and maintenance costs being higher th an anticipated, other legislative and regulatory changes, and revised environmental requirements, including possible GHG emission, water intake and coal com bustion residual regulations, the potential impacts of any laws, rules or regulations th at ultimately replace CAIR including the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) and the effects of the EPA’s recentl y released MACT proposal to establish certain mercury and other emission standards for electric generating units, the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of the capital expenditures that may arise in connectio n with any NSR litigation or potential regulatory initiatives or rulemakings (including that such expenditures could result in our deci sion to shut down or idle certain generating units), adverse regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes with respect to our nuclear operations (incl uding, but not limited to, the revocation or non-renewal of necessary li censes, approvals or operating permits by the NRC, including as a result of the incident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiich i Nuclear Plant), issues that could dela y the current outage at Davis-Besse for the installation of the new reactor vessel head, including indications of cracking in the plant's shield building currently under investigation, adverse legal decisions and outcomes related to Met-Ed’s an d Penelec’s ability to recover certain transmission costs through their transmission service charge ri ders, the continuing availability of generating units and changes in their ability to operate at or near full capaci ty, replacement power costs being higher than anticipated or inadequately hedged, the ability to comp ly with applicable state and federal reliability standards and energy efficiency mandates, changes in customers’ demand for power, in cluding but not limited to, changes resulting from the implementation of state and federal energy efficiency mandates, the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic goals, efforts, and our ability, to improve electr ic commodity margins and the impact of, among other factors, the increased cost of coal and coal transportation on such margins, the ability 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 a nd other trust funds, and cause FirstEnergy to make additional contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger than currently anticipated, the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with FirstEnerg y’s financing plan, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting Firs tEnergy and its subsidiaries, changes in general economic conditions affecting FirstEnergy and its subsidiaries, interest rates and any ac tions taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect FirstE nergy’s and its subsidiaries’ access to financing or their costs and increase requirements to post additional collateral to support outstanding commodi ty positions, LOCs and other financial guarantees, the continuing uncertainty of the nationa l and regional economy and its impact on the major industrial and commercial customers of FirstEnergy’s subsidiaries, issues concerning the soundness of financial institutions and counterparties with which FirstEnergy and its subsidiaries do business, issues arising from the recently completed merger of FirstEnergy and Allegheny Energy, In c. and the ongoing coordination of th eir combined operations including FirstEnergy’s ability to maintain relationships with custom ers, employees or suppliers, as well as the ability to successfully integrate the businesses and r ealize cost savings and any other synergie s and the risk that the credit ratings of the combined company or its subsidiaries may be diff erent from what the companies expect, the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in FirstEnergy’s and its applicable subsidiaries’ SEC filings, and other similar factors. The foregoing review of factors should not be cons trued as exhaustive. New fact ors 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’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 expressly disclaims any current intention to update any forward-looking stat ements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.



## (111811)