February 11, 2026

What do you say when a friend, family member or neighbor asks a question about a specific topic pertaining to FirstEnergy? Here is some information you may want to share if you’re asked about the minimum reliability standards filing in Ohio that was recently in the news.

• We are updating our minimum reliability standards as required by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to ensure they accurately reflect the system conditions customer experience today – particularly the increased frequency and severity of extreme weather, along with a rise in tree-related outages.
• Some stakeholders have raised concerns due to misinterpretations of the data or uncertainty about how these minimum standards function.
• It’s important to understand that minimum standards are regulatory benchmarks, not targets or a ceiling on our performance. They don’t dictate our day-to-day operations or reliability goals, nor do they affect our commitment to restoring power as quickly and safely as possible during every outage.
• Instead, the updated standards simply bring our benchmarks into alignment with the actual conditions customers have experienced over recent years.
• We are making significant, ongoing investments – more than $3 billion by 2029 – to strengthen the grid by modernizing equipment, deploying advanced automation, upgrading systems and enhancing vegetation management practices.
• While such large-scale improvements take time, many customers are already seeing improved reliability, especially on circuits where grid modernization technologies have been installed. 
• Ultimately, these efforts support our goal of building a smarter, stronger and more resilient grid that can better withstand shifting weather patterns. Our focus remains on reducing both the frequency and duration of outages and on continuously improving service reliability for all the communities we serve.