West Penn Power Hires 26 Westmoreland Graduates
June 12, 2019 Youngwood, Pa.West Penn Power has hired 26 new graduates of the Power Systems Institute (PSI), a FirstEnergy Corp. utility training partnership with Westmoreland County Community College.
The new employees are line workers.
"Our PSI program develops top-quality, well-educated men and women for the electric utility industry," said John Rea, regional president of West Penn Power. "We look forward to these graduates joining our workforce to help continue providing safe and reliable electric service for our customers."
The new West Penn Power line employees, listed by work locations and hometowns, are:
- Arnold – Tyler Allen, Sligo; Joshua Kosecki, Vandergrift
- Boyce – Jon Delaney, North Huntington; Brian Haley, Lower Burrell
- Butler – Matt Rose, Beaver; Blake Williams, Butler
- Clarion – TJ Armstrong, Clarion
- Jeanette – Mac Steel, Jr., Jeannette
- Jefferson – Vincent Capozza, Masontown; Nate Smirga, Arona
- Kittanning – Nick Huth, Kittanning
- McConnellsburg – Ben Hendrickson, Neelyton
- Pleasant Valley – Kyle Halterman, Mount Pleasant; Joseph Manetta, Ruffs Dale
- State College – Sam Wasil, Apollo
- St. Marys – James Nussbaum, Kersey; Nick Schade, Irwin
- Uniontown – Derek Brangard, New Salem; Ed Kibe, Connellsville; Justin Randolph, Smock
- Transmission – Cory Kline, Mt. Pleasant; Tyler Stouffer, Ligonier
- Washington – Colton Kendra, Greenville; Dom Pomponi, Greensburg; Drew Tonks, Greensburg
- Waynesburg – Joshua Brand, Greencastle
The PSI curriculum for line employees requires two-and-a-half days each week spent at Westmoreland County Community College completing academic course work, with the remainder of the week spent at a West Penn Power training facility in Jeannette.
The graduates earn an associate of applied science degree in Electric Utility Technology.
Since the program was developed in 2000, FirstEnergy has hired more than 1,900 line workers and substation personnel who completed PSI programs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia.
For information about how to enroll in the PSI program, call 1-800-829-6801, or go to www.firstenergycorp.com/psi.