FirstEnergy Corp. on Friday completed its $8.5 billion acquisition of Allegheny Energy Inc., which means the name on electric utility trucks, customers' bills and buildings will change over the next few months, a spokesman said.
FirstEnergy of Akron, Ohio, and Allegheny Energy, based in Greensburg, wasted little time in completing the deal, signing the papers the day after the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved the merger that affects about 2 million electric customers in the state.
The new FirstEnergy will serve 6.1 million customers spread across Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.
West Penn Power, the utility operating name, will replace the name Allegheny Power, and customers could begin seeing some of the name changes starting next week and continuing over the next few months, FirstEnergy spokesman David Neurohr said. Electric customers will see the name changes in their bills in the next few billing cycles, he said.
The former Allegheny Energy headquarters in Greensburg will become the regional headquarters for West Penn Power. David W. McDonald, the regional president for West Penn Power, and his staff will be located there.
As part of a settlement to win approval from the PUC, FirstEnergy agreed to keep at least 800 jobs at the Cabin Hill Drive headquarters in Greensburg in the first year after the merger, where about 845 are employed now. The transition will continue over the next few months, and some jobs with duties appropriate for the corporate headquarters will move to Akron, Neurohr said.
A subsidiary of Allegheny Energy that generated electricity in 21 power plants, Allegheny Energy Supply, will become part of FirstEnergy Generation, Neurohr said.
FirstEnergy announced it will locate regional headquarters for Potomac Power, which serves Maryland, in Washington County, Md. The regional headquarters for West Virginia operations, Monongahela Power, will be at a new transmission operations center in Fairmont, W.Va. FirstEnergy acquired the Maryland and West Virginia utility operations in the merger.
FirstEnergy maintains regional utility headquarters in Reading for Pennsylvania Power Co. and in Erie for Pennsylvania Electric Co.
FirstEnergy's stock closed at $37.75, down 41 cents, and Allegheny Energy's stock closed at $24.95, down 23 cents. It was the last day that Allegheny Energy's stock would be traded, Neurohr said.
