He Succeeds David M. Blank, Who Will Retire After Nearly 40 Years With the Company AKRON, Ohio, Aug. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) has announced that William R. Ridmann has been promoted to vice president, Rates and Regulatory Affairs, effective September 27, succeeding David M. Blank, who has elected to retire after nearly 40 years with the company. "Dave has been a key member of our management team and his knowledge and guidance in the areas of rates and regulatory affairs will be missed," said Anthony J. Alexander, president and chief executive officer of FirstEnergy. "At the same time, Bill's extensive experience in these areas and throughout our company will serve our needs well into the future." Ridmann began his career with the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI) in 1977 after earning bachelors degrees in business administration and electrical engineering from the University of Cincinnati. He has served CEI, Centerior and FirstEnergy in numerous roles, including manager of Revenue Requirements, manager of Rate Restructuring, director of Energy Solutions and director of Marketing. Ridmann currently is director of State Regulatory Affairs for FirstEnergy, a position has held since 2006. Blank joined the company as a summer intern in the Treasury Department of CEI in 1969 and served in a number of positions in the company's rates and system planning departments. In 1986, following CEI's merger with Toledo Edison to form Centerior Energy, Blank was named the company's director of Rates and Strategic Planning, and was named Treasurer in 1994. In 1997, following the merger of Centerior and Ohio Edison to form FirstEnergy, he was named director of Rates and Regulatory Affairs, and was promoted to vice president in May 2004. In addition to an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Mount Union College, Blank earned a master's in economics and a law degree from Cleveland State University. 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. DATASOURCE: FirstEnergy Corp. CONTACT: Chris Eck, +1-330-384-7939 Web Site: http://www.firstenergycorp.com/

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