FirstEnergy President & CEO Anthony Alexander spoke with FOX Business Network’s (FBN) Liz Claman about the energy sector and the how the company handled Winter Storm Nemo. Alexander said, “I think natural gas is the clear game changer for the next few years,” but discussed the need for a balanced portfolio so as not to “just rely on one” type of energy source. Alexander went on to discuss the impact of Winter Storm Nemo saying, “we were okay,” and that the “system held together well. We got most costumers back on relatively quickly.”
On the importance of natural gas:
“Well I think at this point, if we look to the future, I think natural gas is the clear game changer for the next few years anyway. It’s regularly available, we know it’s there, we have great expectations for it deliverability as we develop these fields. So, I think near term, natural gas will be the logical choice, but in our industry we really need to have a balanced portfolio. You can’t just rely on one”
On FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)’s dividend plan:
“Well I think it has been pretty consistent, that we have a stable dividend. It’s solid, it’s well supported by the regulative side of our business and I look to our dividend as a real plus for the company, because it is solid, it is stable, it is fully supportive by our operations, particularly our regulated operations, so we are much different than some of the other companies out there.”
On how much it cost FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) to obtain the naming rights of the Cleveland Browns stadium:
“Well it’s been all over the newspapers, and it’s just part of our overall advertising program. We are a competitive company when it comes to generation. It’s important for customers to understand that they have a choice and that we are one of the choices that we hope that they will seek out and use our services.”
On the impact of Winter Storm Nemo:
“We did okay, we got about a foot of snow in New Jersey and western Pennsylvania, but the system held together well. We got most costumers back on relatively quickly. So we were prepared, we had a lot of people on the ground and most of the damage was focused much more into the Northeast.”
