Cover and table of contents

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Cover and table of contents

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

☑ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the FISCAL YEAR ended December 31, 2020

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ___________________ to ___________________


Commission	Registrant; State of Incorporation;				I.R.S. Employer
File Number	Address; and Telephone Number				Identification No.

333-21011	FIRSTENERGY CORP				34-1843785
	(An	Ohio	Corporation)
	76 South Main Street
	Akron		OH	44308
	Telephone		(800)	736-3402

SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OF THE ACT:


Title of Each Class						Trading Symbol						Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Common Stock, $0.10 par value per share						FE						New York Stock Exchange

SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(g) OF THE ACT:

None.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.


Yes			☑			No			☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.


Yes			☐			No			☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.


Yes			☑			No			☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).


Yes			☑			No			☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.


Large Accelerated Filer			☑

Accelerated Filer			☐

Non-accelerated Filer			☐

Smaller Reporting Company			☐

Emerging Growth Company			☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).


Yes			☐			No			☑

State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and ask price of such common equity, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

$20,967,401,361 as of June 30, 2020

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date:



CLASS						AS OF JANUARY 31, 2021
Common Stock, $0.10 par value						543,215,090

Documents Incorporated By Reference


						PART OF FORM 10-K INTO WHICH
DOCUMENT						DOCUMENT IS INCORPORATED
Proxy Statement for 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of FirstEnergy Corp. to be held May 18, 2021						Part III

TABLE OF CONTENTS


			Page

Glossary of Terms			iii

Part I

Item 1. Business			1

The Companies			1
Utility Regulation			3
Capital Requirements			4
Fuel Supply			4
System Demand			4
Supply Plan			4
Regional Reliability			5
Competition			5
Seasonality			5
Human Capital			5

Information About Our Executive Officers			8
FirstEnergy Website and Other Social Media Sites and Applications			8

Item 1A. Risk Factors			9

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments			22

Item 2. Properties			22

Item 3. Legal Proceedings			23

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures			23

Part II			23

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities			23

Item 6. [Reserved]			24

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations			25

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk			70

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data			71
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm			72

Financial Statements
Consolidated Statements of Income			74
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income			75
Consolidated Balance Sheets			76
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity			77
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows			78

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements			79

Item 9. Changes In and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure			135

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures			135

Item 9B. Other Information			136



Part III			136

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance			136

Item 11. Executive Compensation			137

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters			138

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence			138

Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services			138

Part IV			139

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedule			139

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary			144

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

The following abbreviations and acronyms are used in this report to identify FirstEnergy Corp. and its current and former subsidiaries:


AE Supply			Allegheny Energy Supply Company, LLC, an unregulated generation subsidiary
AGC			Allegheny Generating Company, a generation subsidiary of MP
ATSI			American Transmission Systems, Incorporated, a subsidiary of FET, which owns and operates transmission facilities
BSPC			Bay Shore Power Company
CEI			The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, an Ohio electric utility operating subsidiary
CES			Competitive Energy Services, formerly a reportable operating segment of FirstEnergy
FE			FirstEnergy Corp., a public utility holding company
FENOC			Energy Harbor Nuclear Corp. (formerly known as FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company), a subsidiary of EH, which operates NG’s nuclear generating facilities
FES			Energy Harbor LLC. (formerly known as FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.), a subsidiary of EH, which provides energy-related products and services
FES Debtors			FES, FENOC, FG, NG, FE Aircraft Leasing Corp., Norton Energy Storage LLC, and FGMUC
FESC			FirstEnergy Service Company, which provides legal, financial and other corporate support services
FET			FirstEnergy Transmission, LLC, formerly known as Allegheny Energy Transmission, LLC, which is the parent of ATSI, KATCo, MAIT and TrAIL, and has a joint venture in PATH
FEV			FirstEnergy Ventures Corp., which invests in certain unregulated enterprises and business ventures
FG			Energy Harbor Generation LLC (formerly known as FirstEnergy Generation, LLC), a subsidiary of EH, which owns and operates fossil generating facilities
FGMUC			FirstEnergy Generation Mansfield Unit 1 Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of FG, which has certain leasehold interests in a portion of Unit 1 at the Bruce Mansfield plant
FirstEnergy			FirstEnergy Corp., together with its consolidated subsidiaries
Global Holding			Global Mining Holding Company, LLC, a joint venture between FEV, WMB Marketing Ventures, LLC and Pinesdale LLC
Global Rail			Global Rail Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Global Holding that owns coal transportation operations near Roundup, Montana
GPU			GPU, Inc., former parent of JCP&L, ME and PN, that merged with FE on November 7, 2001
GPUN			GPU Nuclear, Inc., a subsidiary of FE, which operates TMI-2
JCP&L			Jersey Central Power & Light Company, a New Jersey electric utility operating subsidiary
KATCo			Keystone Appalachian Transmission Company, a subsidiary of FET
MAIT			Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission, LLC, a subsidiary of FET, which owns and operates transmission facilities
ME			Metropolitan Edison Company, a Pennsylvania electric utility operating subsidiary
MP			Monongahela Power Company, a West Virginia electric utility operating subsidiary
NG			Energy Harbor Nuclear Generation LLC (formerly known as FirstEnergy Nuclear Generation, LLC), a subsidiary of EH, which owns nuclear generating facilities
OE			Ohio Edison Company, an Ohio electric utility operating subsidiary
Ohio Companies			CEI, OE and TE
PATH			Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, LLC, a joint venture between FE and a subsidiary of AEP
PATH-Allegheny			PATH Allegheny Transmission Company, LLC
PATH-WV			PATH West Virginia Transmission Company, LLC
PE			The Potomac Edison Company, a Maryland and West Virginia electric utility operating subsidiary
Penn			Pennsylvania Power Company, a Pennsylvania electric utility operating subsidiary of OE
Pennsylvania Companies			ME, PN, Penn and WP
PN			Pennsylvania Electric Company, a Pennsylvania electric utility operating subsidiary
Signal Peak			Signal Peak Energy, LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Global Holding that owns mining operations near Roundup, Montana
TE			The Toledo Edison Company, an Ohio electric utility operating subsidiary
TrAIL			Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Company, a subsidiary of FET, which owns and operates transmission facilities
Transmission Companies			ATSI, MAIT and TrAIL
Utilities			OE, CEI, TE, Penn, JCP&L, ME, PN, MP, PE and WP
WP			West Penn Power Company, a Pennsylvania electric utility operating subsidiary

iii


The following abbreviations and acronyms are used to identify frequently used terms in this report:

ACE	Affordable Clean Energy	EGS	Electric Generation Supplier
ADIT	Accumulated Deferred Income Taxes	EGU	Electric Generation Units
AEP	American Electric Power Company, Inc.	EmPOWER Maryland	EmPOWER Maryland Energy Efficiency Act
AFS	Available-for-sale	ENEC	Expanded Net Energy Cost
AFUDC	Allowance for Funds Used During Construction	EPA	United States Environmental Protection Agency
AMT	Alternative Minimum Tax	EPS	Earnings per Share
AOCI	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)	ERO	Electric Reliability Organization
ARO	Asset Retirement Obligation	ESP IV	Electric Security Plan IV
ARP	Alternative Revenue Program	Facebook®	Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.
ASC	Accounting Standard Codification	FASB	Financial Accounting Standards Board
ASU	Accounting Standards Update	FERC	Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
AYE DCD	Allegheny Energy, Inc. Amended and Restated Revised Plan for Deferral of Compensation of Directors	FES Bankruptcy	FES Debtors' voluntary petitions for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code with the Bankruptcy Court
AYE Director's Plan	Allegheny Energy, Inc. Non-Employee Director Stock Plan	Fitch	Fitch Ratings
Bankruptcy Court	U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Ohio in Akron	FMB	First Mortgage Bond
BCF	Beneficial Conversion Feature	FPA	Federal Power Act
BGS	Basic Generation Service	FTR	Financial Transmission Right
bps	Basis points	GAAP	Accounting Principles Generally Accepted in the United States of America
CAA	Clean Air Act	GHG	Greenhouse Gases
CBA	Collective Bargaining Agreement	HB 6	House Bill 6, as passed by Ohio's 133rd General Assembly
CCR	Coal Combustion Residuals	IBEW	International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
CERCLA	Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980	ICP 2007	FirstEnergy Corp. 2007 Incentive Compensation Plan
CFL	Compact Fluorescent Light	ICP 2015	FirstEnergy Corp. 2015 Incentive Compensation Plan
CFR	Code of Federal Regulations	IIP	Infrastructure Investment Program
CO2	Carbon Dioxide	IRS	Internal Revenue Service
CPP	EPA's Clean Power Plan	ISO	Independent System Operator
CSAPR	Cross-State Air Pollution Rule	ITC	Investment Tax Credit
CTA	Consolidated Tax Adjustment	JCP&L Reliability Plus	JCP&L Reliability Plus IIP
CWA	Clean Water Act	kV	Kilovolt
D.C. Circuit	United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit	KWH	Kilowatt-hour
DCPD	Deferred Compensation Plan for Outside Directors	LED	Light Emitting Diode
DCR	Delivery Capital Recovery	LIBOR	London Interbank Offered Rate
DMR	Distribution Modernization Rider	LOC	Letter of Credit
DSIC	Distribution System Improvement Charge	LS Power	LS Power Equity Partners III, LP
DSP	Default Service Plan	LSE	Load Serving Entity
DTA	Deferred Tax Asset	LTIIPs	Long-Term Infrastructure Improvement Plans
E&P	Earnings and Profits	MDPSC	Maryland Public Service Commission
EDC	Electric Distribution Company	MGP	Manufactured Gas Plants
EDCP	Executive Deferred Compensation Plan	MISO	Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.
EDIS	Electric Distribution Investment Surcharge	Moody’s	Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.
EE&C	Energy Efficiency and Conservation	MW	Megawatt


MWH	Megawatt-hour	PURPA	Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978
NAAQS	National Ambient Air Quality Standards	RCRA	Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
NAV	Net Asset Value	REC	Renewable Energy Credit
NDT	Nuclear Decommissioning Trust	Regulation FD	Regulation Fair Disclosure promulgated by the SEC
NERC	North American Electric Reliability Corporation	RFC	ReliabilityFirst Corporation
NJBPU	New Jersey Board of Public Utilities	RFP	Request for Proposal
NOL	Net Operating Loss	RGGI	Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
NOx	Nitrogen Oxide	ROE	Return on Equity
NPDES	National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System	RSS	Rich Site Summary
NRC	Nuclear Regulatory Commission	RTEP	Regional Transmission Expansion Plan
NSR	New Source Review	RTO	Regional Transmission Organization
NUG	Non-Utility Generation	S&P	Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service
NYPSC	New York State Public Service Commission	SBC	Societal Benefits Charge
OAG	Ohio Attorney General	SCOH	Supreme Court of Ohio
OCA	Office of Consumer Advocate	SEC	United States Securities and Exchange Commission
OCC	Ohio Consumers' Counsel	SIP	State Implementation Plan(s) Under the Clean Air Act
OPEB	Other Post-Employment Benefits	SO2	Sulfur Dioxide
OPEIU	Office and Professional Employees International Union	SOS	Standard Offer Service
OPIC	Other Paid-in Capital	SREC	Solar Renewable Energy Credit
OSHA	Occupational Safety and Health Administration	SSO	Standard Service Offer
OVEC	Ohio Valley Electric Corporation	SVC	Static Var Compensator
PA DEP	Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection	Tax Act	Tax Cuts and Jobs Act adopted December 22, 2017
PCRB	Pollution Control Revenue Bond	TMI-2	Three Mile Island Unit 2
PJM	PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.	TO	Transmission Owner
PJM Region	The aggregate of the zones within PJM	Twitter®	Twitter is a registered trademark of Twitter, Inc.
PJM Tariff	PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff	UCC	Official committee of unsecured creditors appointed in connection with the FES Bankruptcy
POLR	Provider of Last Resort	UWUA	Utility Workers Union of America
PPA	Purchase Power Agreement	VEPCO	Virginia Electric and Power Company
PPB	Parts per Billion	VIE	Variable Interest Entity
PPUC	Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission	VSCC	Virginia State Corporation Commission
PUCO	Public Utilities Commission of Ohio	WVPSC	Public Service Commission of West Virginia
		ZEC	Zero Emissions Certificate

PART I

Next: Item 1. BUSINESS