To the editor: Blade unfair to FirstEnergy
Wed, 20 May 2020 04:00:00 GMT
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I was greatly disappointed to read the May 15 editorial “FirstEnergy’s Bad Math.” Full of misleading statements and assumptions, it should more accurately be titled “Toledo Blade’s Bad Journalism.”
While The Blade even acknowledges the full separation between FirstEnergy Corp. and FirstEnergy Solutions (formerly FES, now Energy Harbor), the editorial still attempts to marry recent actions taken by Energy Harbor to FirstEnergy Corp.
The fact is the two companies have no relationship to one another, and the actions of Energy Harbor have no legal, financial, or other bearing on FirstEnergy Corp.
In late 2016, FirstEnergy Corp. made the decision to exit from its competitive generating business — FES — and become a fully regulated utility company.
Soon after, FES appointed an independent board of directors and retained its own separate legal and financial advisers.
The finances of the two companies were separated in early 2018, and in March, 2018, FES filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. FES emerged from bankruptcy as Energy Harbor earlier this year.
FirstEnergy Corp. and its other subsidiaries were not part of the Chapter 11 filing. To suggest the company was “crying poor and demanding a $1 billion bailout,” or was a “bankrupt company” is patently false.
Our regulated utility operating companies have remained strong, delivering reliable and affordable electricity to our more than 6 million customers.
It’s a shame The Blade insists on continuing its long history of smearing our good name, in this case by tying it to actions by a company that has no legal, financial, or operational connection to ours.
While it could be passed off as ignorance or bad reporting by an individual reporter, an editorial board cannot use these excuses to justify such blatant smear tactics.
CHARLES JONES
President and Chief Executive Officer,
FirstEnergy Corp.
Big, not fast
President Trump’s claim that we will have a vaccine for the coronavirus before the end of 2020, which will be “big and fast like the Manhattan Project” is another example of his lack of knowledge of American history.
If I were a betting woman, I would wager that he has no clue what the Manhattan Project entailed. Yes, it was big, but it wasn’t fast. From inception (1939) when discussions and theorizing got under way, to completion July 16, 1945 was six years.
It seemed an eternity to American leaders who feared the Germans were ahead in building a weapon using nuclear technology.
In January, 2017, en route to Asia, Mr. Trump stopped in Hawaii. He was given a private tour of Pearl Harbor.
By some accounts, he had a vague idea of some battle there and asked his then-chief of staff, John Kelly, why they were visiting this location. The above are just two of the multiple accounts showing his ignorance of U.S. history. This is not surprising given his aversion to books and reading.
ROSE HESS
Bowling Green