After the approval of the fifth and final utility’s electric choiceplan early last month, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO)vowed that the next crucial step would be marketer certification. Thatstep was taken last week as FirstEnergy Services, a subsidiary ofFirstEnergy, became one of the first to gain certification to offercustomers electricity in Ohio (see Daily GPI, Oct. 2).

FirstEnergy Services is now registered to sell electricitywithin the traditional service areas of its parent company’sutility companies, Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Co. and ToledoEdison, and in other areas of the state. First Energy’s electricutility companies will continue to deliver electricity to over twomillion customers located in Northern and central Ohio, no matterwhat supplier customers choose.

FirstEnergy Services will be in place supplying electricity asof Jan. 1, 2001, but it will not be the company’s first ventureinto the deregulated electricity market. The company already sellsderegulated electricity in markets in Pennsylvania, New Jersey,Delaware and Maryland, where it serves over 20,000 accounts.

“FirstEnergy Services looks forward to offering electriccustomers across Ohio competitive prices, just as it’s doing withnatural gas customers in northeastern Ohio,” said Douglas S.Elliott, vice president of sales, marketing and energy services forFirstEnergy Corp. “FirstEnergy Services signed more than 90,000residential and small business natural gas customers during itsinitial offer through Dominion East Ohio’s Energy Choice Program.We signed another 20,000 natural gas customers during a subsequentoffer, which due to high demand we’ve extended to another 20,000customers.”

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