FirstEnergy plants generate 88.9 million megawatt hours last year

FirstEnergy Corp. said this week that it generated approximately 88.9 million megawatt hours of electricity in 2015 at its coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, wind and hydro facilities in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, West Virginia, Virginia and Illinois

Among this output, the company said 31.9 million was generated through the company’s three nuclear power stations and an additional 2.8 million megawatt hours through its renewable plants that include wind and hydroelectric power.

The company said its Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry, Ohio, reported a forced loss rate of zero, which indicates unplanned outages and reductions did not occur at the plant.

"Our power plants produced the reliable electricity that powers our customers and communities in 2015, and we remain focused on delivering strong, dependable plant operations and enhancing our environmental performance for the future," Jim Lash, president of FirstEnergy Generation, said.

The company also said it has made progress in its efforts to reduce the amount of carbon emissions from coal-based generation plants. Both the Sammis and Bay Shore plants in Ohio and Pleasants and Harrison plants in West Virginia are in line with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS).

In addition, many generating plants belonging to the company saw equipment upgrades over the course of 2015 to increase reliability across FirstEnergy's operating fleet.