Edgar Filing: FIRSTENERGY CORP

Form 8-K Earnings Release

UNITED STATES

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) October 25, 2006

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

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2.):

[ ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

[ ] Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition

On October 25, 2006, FirstEnergy Corp. issued two public announcements, which are attached as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 hereto and incorporated by reference. FirstEnergy's Press Release and Consolidated Report to the Financial Community contain non-GAAP* financial measures. Pursuant to the requirements of Regulation G, FirstEnergy has provided quantitative reconciliations within the Press Release and Consolidated Report to the Financial Community of the non-GAAP* financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

The Press Release and Consolidated Report to the Financial Community include normalized earnings per share, which is not calculated in accordance with GAAP because it excludes the impact of "unusual items." Unusual items reflect the impact on earnings of events that are not routine, may be related to discontinued businesses or may be the cumulative effect of an accounting change. Management believes presenting normalized earnings calculated in this manner provides useful information to investors in evaluating the ongoing results of FirstEnergy's businesses and assists investors in comparing the company's operating performance to the operating performance of other companies in the energy sector. The Consolidated Report to the Financial Community also includes references to free cash flow and cash generation which are not defined under GAAP. Management believes presenting these non-GAAP* measures provides useful information to investors in assessing FirstEnergy's normalized operating performance from a cash perspective. FirstEnergy’s management frequently references these non-GAAP* financial measures in its decision-making, using them to facilitate historical and ongoing performance comparisons as well as comparisons to the performance of peer companies.

The non-GAAP* information presented in the Press Release and Consolidated Report to the Financial Community should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, their most directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Also, these non-GAAP* financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other entities.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Description

99.1	Press Release issued by FirstEnergy Corp., dated October 25, 2006
99.2	Consolidated Report to the Financial Community, dated October 25, 2006

*This Form 8-K contains non-GAAP financial measures. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company's historical or future financial performance, financial position, or cash flows that either excludes or includes amounts, or is subject to adjustment that have the effect of excluding or including amounts, that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP.

Forward-Looking Statements: 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, replacement power costs being higher than anticipated or inadequately hedged, the continued ability to collect transition and other charges or to recover increased transmission costs, maintenance costs being higher than anticipated, legislative and regulatory changes (including revised environmental requirements), and the legal and regulatory changes resulting from the implementation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (including, but not limited to, the repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935), the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of the capital expenditures needed to, among other things, implement the Air Quality Compliance Plan (including that such amounts could be higher than anticipated) or levels of emission reductions related to the Consent Decree resolving the New Source Review litigation, adverse regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes (including, but not limited to, the revocation of necessary licenses or operating permits, fines or other enforcement actions and remedies) of governmental investigations and oversight, including by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the United States Attorney's Office, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the various state public utility commissions as disclosed in the registrant’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, generally, and with respect to the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station outage and heightened scrutiny at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in particular, the timing and outcome of various proceedings before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (including, but not limited to, the successful resolution of the issues remanded to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio by the Ohio Supreme Court regarding the Rate Stabilization Plan) and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, including the transition rate plan filings for Met-Ed and Penelec, the continuing availability and operation of generating units, the ability of generating units to continue to operate at, or near full capacity, the inability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic goals (including employee workforce initiatives), the anticipated benefits from voluntary pension plan contributions, the ability to improve electric commodity margins and to experience growth in the distribution business, the ability to access the public securities and other capital markets and the cost of such capital, the outcome, cost and other effects of present and potential legal and administrative proceedings and claims related to the August 14, 2003 regional power outages, the successful completion of the share repurchase program announced August 10, 2006, the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in the registrant’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the registrant’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, and other similar factors. The registrant expressly disclaims any current intention to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

October 25, 2006

	FIRSTENERGY CORP.
	Registrant




	By:	/s/ Harvey L. Wagner
		Harvey L. Wagner Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer