FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) electric company personnel are prepared to respond to potential service interruptions caused by a winter storm system expected to bring high winds, snow, and heavy rain to portions of the company’s service areas in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and West Virginia this week.

Company meteorologists have been tracking the storm for several days. The system is expected to bring various weather conditions to each state:

• Ohio: Wet snow is expected to fall across parts of northern and central Ohio beginning early Tuesday morning before transitioning to rain later in the day Tuesday through Wednesday. Strong wind gusts of more than 50 miles per hour (mph) are expected, with some areas reaching wind speeds of more than 60 mph.
• Pennsylvania: Snow is expected in northern and central Pennsylvania early Tuesday and will become increasingly wet throughout the day before transitioning to rain. Heavy rains are expected across most portions of central and eastern Pennsylvania, with localized flooding possible through Wednesday. Strong wind gusts of more than 50 mph are expected, with some areas reaching wind speeds of more than 60 mph.
• New Jersey: Heavy rain is expected to begin Tuesday afternoon, with localized flooding possible through Wednesday. Strong wind gusts of more than 50 mph are expected early Wednesday, with some areas reaching wind speeds of more than 60 mph.
• West Virginia and Maryland: A mixture of snow and freezing rain is expected beginning Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning before changing to rain. On Wednesday, wind gusts up to 55 mph are expected in eastern West Virginia and western Maryland.

Wade Smith, President of FirstEnergy Utilities, stated, “While we invest in our electric system throughout the year to keep power flowing to customers in all weather conditions, the combination of high winds, heavy, wet snow, and rain carries the potential for power outages and presents challenges for our crews during repair efforts. We are vigilantly monitoring both the current storm system and the forecasted severe weather over the next week, and we are committed to taking every necessary step to ensure safe and prompt restoration of electric service for our customers.”

FirstEnergy’s electric companies are implementing storm response plans, including:

• Implementing 16-hour-shifts for storm personnel with around-the-clock coverage.
• Staffing additional internal operators, damage assessors, and analysts at distribution control centers to assist with high volumes of outage calls.
• Notifying contractors to be re