Karen Frantz
GHG Monitor
1/17/14
FirstEnergy, an Ohio-based group that is one of the nation’s largest investor-owned electric companies, will produce a report on policies it could adopt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in response to demands from its shareholders, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said this week. The company’s Sustainability Report, which will consider policies within the context of President Obama’s goal of an 80 percent reduction in GHGs by 2050, is expected to be made available by Oct. 1. In addition to looking at ways to reduce its emissions, FirstEnergy pledged to “review the age and life of its existing fossil fleet and future replacement generation drivers” and “research how standards of performance for greenhouse gas emissions from new stationary sources and the regulation of carbon pollution from existing power [plants] under the Clean Air Act affect the company,” according to a statement released by DiNapoli’s office.
“FirstEnergy has been a leader in reducing pollutants and emissions over the last two decades, and through plant closures and installation of additional emissions-control equipment, the company has aggressive plans in place to further reduce emissions into the future,” FirstEnergy spokeperson Stephanie Walton said in an e-mail to GHG Monitor. “In response to shareholder interest, FirstEnergy has agreed to provide additional transparency by outlining these plans in its 2014 Sustainability Report, which will be published later this year.” The company has shuttered 11 of its coal-fired power plants, and those closures, along with FirstEnergy’s MATS compliance plans, are expected to result in a 25 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2015, Walton said.
Walton also said that FirstEnergy is not looking at using carbon capture in the near term to achieve emissions reductions because she said the technology is not yet commercially available. “The company will continue to closely follow research developments with regard to carbon capture technologies and would consider their use should the technology become commercially and economically feasible,” she said.
Other Companies Also Pressured to Reduce GHGs
The announcement comes in response to a resolution from shareholders, which include New York and Connecticut state pension funds, calling for such a report. The resolution was filed by DiNapoli, Connecticut Treasurer Denise Nappier and the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, who agreed to withdraw the resolution in light of FirstEnergy’s promise to craft the report. The shareholder resolution called on FirstEnergy to explore policy options that “shall consider innovative technologies and strategies for energy generation, such as placing greater emphasis on distributed clean energy sources or strategies to deploy centralized renewable energy generation in the Company’s geographic region, as well as consideration of the most advanced practices and policies of utility peers in the U.S. and worldwide.”
FirstEnergy is not the only company being pressured to reduce its carbon footprint. DiNapoli has reached similar agreements with 12 other companies since 2010, including Dunkin’Brands, Arch Coal and DTE Energy. “FirstEnergy is taking important steps today for shareholder value and the environment by looking holistically at how climate change is affecting the company over the long term,” DiNapoli said. “We look forward to working with FirstEnergy as it implements its plan and will continue to engage with our portfolio companies to reach similar agreements. Companies are enhancing long-term shareholder value when they prepare for future regulations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
