Form 8-K (fe, jcpl)
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D. C. 20549
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
PURSUANT TO
SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of
Report (Date of earliest event reported) May 25, 2005
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Commission |
Registrant;
State of Incorporation; |
I.R.S.
Employer |
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File
Number |
Address;
and Telephone Number |
Identification
No. |
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333-21011 |
FIRSTENERGY
CORP. |
34-1843785 |
| |
(An
Ohio Corporation) |
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76
South Main Street |
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| |
Akron,
OH 44308 |
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| |
Telephone
(800)736-3402 |
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| |
|
|
|
1-3141 |
JERSEY
CENTRAL POWER & LIGHT COMPANY |
21-0485010 |
| |
(A
New Jersey Corporation) |
|
| |
c/o
FirstEnergy Corp. |
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76
South Main Street |
|
| |
Akron,
OH 44308 |
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| |
Telephone
(800)736-3402 |
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| |
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|
Check the
appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously
satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following
provisions (see General Instruction A.2.):
[ ] Written
communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
[ ] Soliciting
material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
[ ]
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act
(17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[ ]
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act
(17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Item 8.01
Other Events
On May 25,
2005, Jersey Central Power & Light Company (JCP&L), a wholly owned
subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., received approval from the New Jersey Board of
Public Utilities (NJBPU) of two stipulated settlement agreements. The first
Stipulation of Settlement between JCP&L and the NJBPU Regulatory Staff
resolves all of the issues associated with JCP&L's motion for
reconsideration of the NJBPU Summary Order (Phase I Order) dated August 1,
2003. The second Stipulation of Settlement between JCP&L, the NJBPU
Regulatory Staff and the Ratepayer Advocate resolves all of the issues
associated with JCP&L's Supplemental Petition for a Phase II Proceeding
(Phase II Petition) filed July 16, 2004.
The stipulated
settlements provide for, among other things, the following:
-
An annual
increase in distribution revenues of $23 million effective June 1, 2005
associated with the Phase I Order reconsideration;
-
An annual
increase in distribution revenues of $36 million effective June 1, 2005
related to JCP&L's Phase II Petition;
-
An annual
reduction in both rates and amortization expense of $8 million effective June
1, 2005, in anticipation of an NJBPU order regarding JCP&L's request to
securitize up to $277 million of its deferred balance;
-
An increase in
JCP&L's authorized return on common equity from 9.5 percent to 9.75
percent; and
-
A commitment by
JCP&L to maintain a target level of customer service reliability with a
reduction in JCP&L's authorized return on common equity to its previous
level of 9.5 percent after the target is not met for two consecutive quarters.
The authorized return on common equity would then be restored to 9.75 percent
when the target is met for two consecutive quarters.
In a Letter to the
Investment Community reporting these agreements, FirstEnergy stated that these
settlements, coupled with the approval in Ohio to defer certain
transmission-related costs but partially offset by the Perry plant forced outage
in January and the extended Perry refueling outage, should allow FirstEnergy to
achieve earnings per share in 2005 towards the top end of the 2005 guidance
range of $2.70 to $2.85.
JCP&L's press
release and FirstEnergy's Letter to the Investment Community are attached hereto
as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2, respectively, and incorporated by
reference.
Item 9.01
Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(c)
Exhibits.
|
Exhibit
No. |
Description |
| |
|
|
99.1 |
Press release
issued by JCP&L, dated May 25, 2005 |
|
99.2 |
Letter to the
Investment Community, dated May 25, 2005 |
Forward-Looking
Statement: This Form 8-K
includes forward-looking statements based on information currently available to
management. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties.
These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the terms
"anticipate," "potential," "expect," "believe," "estimate" and similar words.
Actual results may differ materially due to the speed and nature of increased
competition and deregulation in the electric utility industry, economic or
weather conditions affecting future sales and margins, changes in markets for
energy services, changing energy and commodity market prices, replacement power
costs being higher than anticipated or inadequately hedged, the continued
ability of our regulated utilities to collect transition and other charges,
maintenance costs being higher than anticipated, legislative and regulatory
changes (including revised environmental requirements), the receipt of approval
from and entry of a final order by the U.S. District Court, Southern District of
Ohio on the pending settlement agreement resolving the New Source Review
litigation and the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of the capital
expenditures (including that such amounts could be higher than anticipated) or
levels of emission reductions related to this settlement, adverse regulatory or
legal decisions and outcomes (including revocation of necessary licenses or
operating permits, fines or other enforcement actions and remedies) of
governmental investigations and oversight, including by the Securities and
Exchange Commission, the United States Attorney's Office and the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission as disclosed in the registrants' Securities and Exchange
Commission filings, generally, and with respect to the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power
Station outage and heightened scrutiny at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in
particular, the availability and cost of capital, the continuing availability
and operation of generating units, the inability to accomplish or realize
anticipated benefits from strategic goals (including the proposed transfer of
generation assets), the ability to improve electric commodity margins and to
experience growth in the distribution business, the ability to access the public
securities and other capital markets, further investigation into the causes of
the August 14, 2003, regional power outage and the outcome, cost and other
effects of present and potential legal and administrative proceedings and claims
related to the outage, the final outcome in the proceeding related to
FirstEnergy's Application for a Rate Stabilization Plan in Ohio, the risks and
other factors discussed from time to time in the registrants' Securities and
Exchange Commission filings, and other similar factors. The registrants
expressly disclaim any current intention to update any forward-looking
statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the
requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each Registrant has duly
caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly
authorized.
May 26,
2005
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FIRSTENERGY CORP. |
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Registrant |
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JERSEY CENTRAL POWER & LIGHT
COMPANY |
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Registrant |
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/s/
Harvey L. Wagner |
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Harvey L. Wagner |
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Vice President, Controller and
Chief Accounting Officer |