Powering Our Region: FirstEnergy Tour

What’s the dress code for a day in the office at FirstEnergy’s Bruce Mansfield Plant in Shippingport, PA? Hard hats, jeans, closed-toed shoes, gloves, and protective eye and ear wear. Members of The Challenge Program, Inc.’s western PA Business-Education Advisory Council (BEAC) suited up for their tour of the facility on Wednesday, August 19 to gain a better understanding of what it truly takes to power our region.

FirstEnergy’s Bruce Mansfield Plant sits along the Ohio River, just 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. The site covers 473 acres and employs more than 300 people. At full capacity, the plant holds a 90-day supply of energy and can produce 59-million kilowatt-hours of electricity every day!

BEAC members got a bird’s eye view of the operations from the 17^th floor of the facility during their tour. In attendance were representatives from Beaver County Career and Technology Center, Wilkinsburg Jr./Sr. High School, and Carpenter Powder Products. All were truly impressed to be exposed to the behind-the-scenes work that goes into powering our region.

It all starts here. Program Manager Mark Ziegenfuss found this lump of coal during the tour of Bruce Mansfield Plant, which is FirstEnergy’s largest coal-fired power plant. This is a High Sulfur Coal with a rough average of 12,000 BTUs.

FirstEnergy is the business partner to The Challenge Program, Inc. at South Side High School. For more information about the company and its careers, click here.