Local Man Added to New Employees at West Penn Power
West Penn Power’s Power Systems Institute graduating class of 2015 demonstrate their climbing skills. These newly minted linemen are now employed by West Penn Power in numerous locations- including Chicora native Mark Graham who works in Kittanning. (photo courtesy of First Energy)
by Jonathan Weaver
A Butler County man will now be working in Kittanning after being hired by a local electric supplier last week.
West Penn Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., has hired a total of 18 new line and substation employees from the Power Systems Institute training program in Greensburg (Westmoreland County) as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance service reliability.
The Power Systems Institute is a utility training partnership established in 2012 with Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood, Pa.
Students spend two-and-a-half days each week at the college completing academic course work with the remainder of the week spent at a West Penn Power training facility in Jeanette, Pa., focusing on safe work practices and procedures in the electrical environment.
The substation employees are graduates of a similar program at Pierpont Community and Technical College in Fairmont, W.Va.
Mark Graham lives in Chicora and graduated from Karns City High School in 2004, but now is the newest lineman for the power company out of their Kittanning location as of May 18.
He has worked up to 16 hour days the past few weeks with recent storms and could’ve selected work sites within a 30-minute radius.
Graham, the previous owner of a landscaping company, knew a few linemen that worked at West Penn Power and found out he qualified for the school.
“It’s a small job compared to the other West Penn Power sites, but we have a great group of guys that are willing to help me learn the job – it’s an extremely-dangerous job, one of the top 10 most-dangerous jobs in the world,” Graham said. “Those guys have been there 25-30 years and say they’re still learning.
Graham – 29 – graduated as a Class C lineman will progress to a Class B lineman in 18 months, and projected he would stay with the company until he is classified as a journeyman.
“I think it’s a great company, a good future,” Graham said.
These new employees are members of the second graduating class of the Power Systems Institute and earned an associate of applied science degree in Electric Utility Technology.
“The Power Systems Institute program continues to produce well-trained, highly skilled employees for our workforce,” said David W. McDonald, president of West Penn Power. “These new employees will work shoulder-to-shoulder with our veteran linemen and substation personnel, learning from them in the field and honing their craft to help ensure reliable service for our customers, now and for years to come.”
As well as Graham, the new employees, hometowns, and work locations included: Michael Baranovich, Salem, Ohio, Jeannette; Adam Barnouski, Nanty Glo, Washington; Nicholas Clarke, Carmichaels, Jefferson; Jacob Diamond, Smithfield, Pleasant Valley; Wesley Fleming, Shippensburg, Waynesboro; Joseph Kuligowski, Erie, Jefferson; Charles McClaughlin, New Salem, Uniontown; Jonathan Peachy, Petersburg, State College; Stephen Perichak, North Huntingdon, Charleroi; Donald Poorbaugh, Mount Pleasant, Jeannette; Eric Pry, Harrisville, Butler; Clint Sarver, Elwood City, Butler; Justin Schultz, Irwin, Boyce; Robert Speer, Lower Burrell, Arnold; Keith Verbosky, Jr., Uniontown, Uniontown; Dillon Walton, New Stanton, Charleroi; and Timothy Watkins, New Paris, McConnellsburg.
The Power Systems Institute is an award-winning, two-year educational program originally developed by FirstEnergy in 2000 to help prepare the company’s next generation of utility line and substation workers.
Since its inception, FirstEnergy has hired 884 line and 289 substation personnel who completed Power Systems Institute programs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and West Virginia.
For information about how to enroll in the Power Systems Institute program, call 1-800-829-6801, or go to www.firstenergycorp.com/psi.
Local News | jweaver June 29, 2015
