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) March 17, 2003
Commission Registrant; State of Incorporation; I.R.S. Employer
File Number Address; and Telephone Number Identification No.
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333-21011 FIRSTENERGY CORP. 34-1843785
(An Ohio Corporation)
76 South Main Street
Akron, Ohio 44308
Telephone (800)736-3402
1-2323 THE CLEVELAND ELECTRIC ILLUMINATING COMPANY 34-0150020
(An Ohio Corporation)
c/o FirstEnergy Corp.
76 South Main Street
Akron, OH 44308
Telephone (800)736-3402
1-3583 THE TOLEDO EDISON COMPANY 34-4375005
(An Ohio Corporation)
c/o FirstEnergy Corp.
76 South Main Street
Akron, OH 44308
Telephone (800)736-3402
1-3141 JERSEY CENTRAL POWER & LIGHT COMPANY 21-0485010
(A New Jersey Corporation)
c/o FirstEnergy Corp.
76 South Main Street
Akron, OH 44308
Telephone (800)736-3402
Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure
On March 17, 2003, FirstEnergy Corp. updated the investment community on
activities associated with efforts to return the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power
Station to service in a safe and reliable manner and other matters.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) IMC 0350 Restart Process - March 11, 2003
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Meetings
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The NRC's IMC 0350 Panel conducted its monthly status sessions on the
Davis-Besse restart effort at Camp Perry, near Port Clinton, Ohio on March 11,
2003. The meeting included an update on recent NRC activities, as well as an
update by FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC) officials on the
company's progress toward preparing the plant for restart.
The NRC discussed significant activities since the February 11, 2003 public
meeting. The activities included the issuance by NRC Staff of a preliminary
significance assessment letter regarding a red finding. The finding is
attributable to performance deficiencies at Davis-Besse which led to the
cracking of the control rod drive tubes and the resulting corrosion damage to
the reactor vessel head which was of high safety significance. The NRC briefed
Ohio Governor Bob Taft on the agency's response to the head corrosion at
Davis-Besse. The NRC also discussed its continuing inspection efforts at the
plant, including organizational effectiveness and human performance, system
health reviews and design issues, safety significant program effectiveness and
preparation for the integrated leak rate test inspection.
FENOC officials discussed progress on the Return to Service Plan, Management and
Human Performance, Quality Oversight on Safety Culture and Safety Conscious Work
Environment, Return to Service Building Blocks, and upcoming activities.
FENOC discussed its progress on major restart milestones as follows:
o Fuel reload was completed on February 26, 2003
o Reactor head installation was completed on March 12, 2003
o Installation of FLUS Online Leak Monitoring System is in progress
o Installation of the containment air coolers is under way
FENOC noted that Davis-Besse will be the first nuclear plant in the country to
install the FLUS online leak monitoring system, a state-of-the-art system
designed to detect and locate even minor leakage, in this case under the reactor
vessel. A total of 12 FLUS systems have been used successfully in nuclear plants
in Europe and Canada.
With respect to the safety culture assessment, FENOC reported that Dr. Sonja
Haber's activities at the plant have been completed. Dr. Haber and her team
interviewed approximately 90 employees, observed normal plant activities (site
meetings and departmental interactions), and conducted a survey with 660
employees participating or about 80% of total plant employees. The results of
the survey are currently being analyzed and her preliminary findings are due in
late March 2003.
Upcoming activities include:
o Ongoing maintenance on the reactor coolant pumps, including seal replacement
and other refurbishment work on two of the four pumps (the other two are
slated for refurbishment during the next outage)
o Assembly of the emergency sump lower strainer
o Preparations for the containment vessel integrated leak rate test and the
reactor pressure test
The next scheduled 0350 Panel meeting will be held at Camp Perry on April 15,
2003.
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Shelf Filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
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FirstEnergy Corp. today filed an omnibus "shelf" registration statement on Form
S-3 with the SEC covering securities in the aggregate amount of up to $2
billion.
Although FirstEnergy does not have any current plans to issue any securities,
once this shelf registration statement is declared effective by the SEC,
FirstEnergy will have the flexibility to issue and sell from time to time
various types of securities, including common stock, debt securities, or share
purchase contracts and related share purchase units. Net proceeds from any sale
of securities are currently expected to be used for general corporate purposes.
If the SEC does not review this filing, FirstEnergy expects that the
registration statement could become effective in early April 2003. If the SEC
reviews the filing, it may be six to eight weeks before it can become effective.
FirstEnergy will continue to apply its strong positive cash flow toward debt
retirement to reduce leverage and improve its credit profile. This aggressive
debt reduction initiative will allow FirstEnergy to achieve its desired capital
structure over the next several years.
During 2002, FirstEnergy retired $1.4 billion of debt and preferred stock
securities in addition to the $1.7 billion of debt that was de-consolidated
following its sale of a majority interest in Avon Energy Partners to Aquila. In
2003, it anticipates free cash flow from operations, which is after capital
expenditures and common dividend payments, in excess of $700 million, which will
allow FirstEnergy to redeem the $670 million of mandatory long-term debt due in
2003.
The securities covered by the registration statement filed today may not be sold
nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement
becomes effective. This Form 8-K does not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of any offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities
in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior
to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.
When a written prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the
Securities Act of 1933 with respect to any securities becomes available, a copy
may be obtained from FirstEnergy Corp., 76 South Main Street, Akron, OH 44308.
Jersey Central Power & Light Company (JCP&L) Rate Case Proceeding
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Schedule---The current schedule in the proceeding is:
o Hearings to end on March 27, 2003
o Briefs due April 11, 2003
o Reply Briefs due May 2, 2003
o Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Recommended Decision in mid-June 2003
o Board of Public Utilities decision in July 2003
o New rates effective August 1, 2003
Because of the extension of the hearing schedule, the ALJ has stated that she
may have to delay the Briefing schedule somewhat.
Updated Filing Request---The rate case is using calendar year 2002 for the test
year. When JCP&L originally filed its request last summer, the test year data
was forecasted but it has now been updated with actual results through December
31, 2002. Largely due to the cost reduction initiatives undertaken by JCP&L, the
updated filing reduced JCP&L's rate increase request from $153 million to $122
million. This reduces the average customer rate impact from the original 7.8%
increase to a 6.1% increase. The
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revised request reflects securitization of the forecasted July 31, 2003 deferred
balance of $688 million. If JCP&L were not allowed to securitize the deferred
balance, it has requested deferred balance recovery over a four-year period with
a return on the unamortized balance. This alternative would raise the overall
rate request to $246 million, a 12.4% average increase in customers' rates.
The updated rate request, including securitization of the deferred balances, is
detailed below by rate tariff component:
Jersey Central Power & Light Company
Revenue and % Rate Change
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($ Millions)
Securitization of
Deferred Balance
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Revenue % Change
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Delivery Charge $(41) (2.1)
Credit Elimination 111 5.6
MTC/TBC 68 3.4
SBC (16) (0.8)
--- ----
Total $122 6.1%
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,
legislative and regulatory changes (including revised environmental
requirements), the availability and cost of capital, ability to accomplish or
realize anticipated benefits from strategic initiatives and other similar
factors.
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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.
March 17, 2003
FIRSTENERGY CORP.
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Registrant
THE CLEVELAND ELECTRIC
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ILLUMINATING COMPANY
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Registrant
THE TOLEDO EDISON COMPANY
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Registrant
JERSEY CENTRAL POWER & LIGHT COMPANY
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Registrant
/s/Harvey L. Wagner
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Harvey L. Wagner
Vice President, Controller
and Chief Accounting Officer
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