Potomac Edison Hires New Graduates from Power Systems Institute Training Program

WILLIAMSPORT, Md., June 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Potomac Edison has hired 15 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 13 line workers and two substation electricians.

The new employees recently graduated from the PSI program established with Blue Ridge Community & Technical College in Martinsburg, W.Va. in 2015. Two additional new substation electricians graduated from other partnering colleges.

"Our PSI program develops top-quality, well educated men and women for the electric utility industry," said James A. Sears, Jr., president of FirstEnergy's Maryland Operations. "We look forward to these graduates joining our workforce to help continue providing safe and reliable electric service for our customers."

The new Potomac Edison line employees, with their work locations and hometowns, are:

• Augusta – Blake Saville, Romney, W. Va.
• Berkeley Springs – Alexander Lake, Berkeley Springs, W. Va.
• Frederick – Jared Csordas, Boonsboro Md.; Austin Saxberg, Meyersdale, Pa.
• Fort Ashby – Jordan Montgomery, Westernport, Md.
• Martinsburg – Benjamin Bowling, Waynesboro, Pa.; Dalton Yost, Hagerstown, Md.
• Mount Airy – Jeremy Ashby, Swanton, Md.; Justin Baker, Dillsburg, Pa.; Sean Kamp, Clear Spring, Md.; Tyler Rosikiewicz, Franklin Park, N.J.; Matthew Sandeen, Hagerstown, Md.
• Oakland – Cameron Chorpenning, Cumberland, Md.

The new Potomac Edison substation employees, with their work locations and hometowns, are: 

• Williamsport – Ricky Linaburg, Cresaptown, Md.; Logan Twigg, Cumberland, Md.

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 Blue Ridge completing academic course work, with the remainder of the week spent at a Potomac Edison training facility in Williamsport, Md. 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 was developed in 2000, FirstEnergy has hired over 1,900 line workers and substation personnel who completed PSI programs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia.

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

Potomac Edison serves about 263,000 customers in seven Maryland counties and 137,000 customers in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Follow Potomac Edison at www.potomacedison.com, on Twitter @PotomacEdison, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PotomacEdison.

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. Visit FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and follow on Twitter at @FirstEnergyCorp.

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

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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.