Penelec Hires New Graduates from Power Systems Institute Training Program

PRNewswire 10-Jun-2019 3:00 PM

ERIE, Pa., June 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania Electric Company (Penelec) has hired 31 new graduates of the Power Systems Institute (PSI), a FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) program to train the next generation of line and substation workers.

The new employees include 25 line workers who graduated from the program at Porecco College in Erie and six substation electricians who graduated from the program at Penn Highlands Community College in Johnstown.

"Our PSI program develops top-quality, well educated men and women for the electric utility industry," said Nick Austin, regional president of Penelec. "We look forward to these graduates joining our workforce to help continue providing safe and reliable electric service for our customers."

The new line employees, with their work location and hometowns, are:

• Altoona – Jordan Bradybaugh, Woodland; Nicholas Carowick, Todd; Jared Makoczy, Portage; Justin Nale, Venus; Michael Passinger, Russell; Nathan Unch, West Decatur; Taylor Stamm, Oil City
• Dubois – Mitchell Dorunda, Warren; Jordan Malizia, Erie
• Indiana – Travus Burch, Warren; Zachary Smith, Edinboro; Matthew Speranaza, Clarksburg
• Johnstown – Tyler Emrick, Franklin; Jared Kula, Waterford; Dakota Miller, Salix; Casey Pace, Waterford; Broc Schoeppner, Knox
• Lewistown – Nickolas Beaulieu, McClure; Joshua Pollock, McVeytown; Addison Shull, Franklin
• Mansfield – Hunter Thompson, Mansfield
• Montrose – Adam Bennet, Sayre; Ian Davis, Dalton; Andrew Rosenberger, Athens
• Shippensburg – Zachary Czap, Philipsburg

The new substation employees with their work location and hometowns are:

• Altoona – Jeremy Rinker, Fallentimber
• Clearfield – William Foreman, Philipsburg; Joshua Gould, Summerhill
• Johnstown – Aaron Ciotti, Johnstown; Erin Hoover, Johnstown.
• Lewistown – Dylan Zeiders, Duncansville 

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.     

The PSI curriculum for lines employees requires two-and-a-half days each week spent at Porecco College completing academic course work, with the remainder of the week spent at a Penelec training facility in Erie. The PSI curriculum for substation employees requires a half week spent at Penn Highlands Community College completing academic course work, with the rest of the week spent at a FirstEnergy facility in Pennsylvania. All students focus on safe work practices and procedures in the electrical environment. The graduates earned an associate of applied science degree in Electric Utility Technology.

Since the program's inception, FirstEnergy has hired over 1,900 line workers and substation personnel who completed PSI programs in Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

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

Penelec serves approximately 600,000 customers in 31 Pennsylvania counties.  Follow Penelec on Twitter @Penelec and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PenelecElectric.

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 24,500 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.

Editor's Note: Photos of the Penelec PSI training program graduates are available for download on Flickr.

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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.