8-K

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): February 9, 2022

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:

☐ 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))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.10 par value per share	FE	New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR §230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR §240.12b-2).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On February 10, 2022, FirstEnergy Corp. (the “Company”) announced that it, acting through the Special Litigation Committee of the Board of Directors (the “Board”), has agreed to a settlement term sheet (the “Proposed Settlement Terms”) to resolve multiple shareholder derivative lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, and the Ohio Court of Common Pleas, Summit County (collectively, the “Derivative Actions”).

The settlement outlined in the Proposed Settlement Terms will, upon court approval, fully resolve the Derivative Actions. The Proposed Settlement Terms stipulate a series of corporate governance enhancements, including, among other matters, that six members of the Board who have served on the Board for a minimum of five years will not stand for re-election at the Company’s 2022 annual shareholder meeting (the “2022 Annual Meeting”). Accordingly, the Company anticipates that the following current members of the Board will not stand for re‑election at the 2022 Annual Meeting: Messrs. Michael J. Anderson, Donald T. Misheff, Thomas N. Mitchell, Christopher D. Pappas and Luis A. Reyes, and Ms. Julia L. Johnson.

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On February 10, 2022, the Company issued a press release announcing the Proposed Settlement Terms, which is attached as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and incorporated herein by reference.

The information set forth in and incorporated into this Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is being furnished pursuant to Item 7.01 of Form 8-K and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any of the Company’s filings under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, whether made before or after the date hereof and regardless of any general incorporation language in such filings, except to the extent expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing. The furnishing of this Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K shall not be deemed an admission as to the materiality of any information herein that is required to be disclosed solely by reason of Regulation FD.

Item 9.01     Financial Statements and Exhibits

(d) Exhibits

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	FirstEnergy Agrees on Terms to Resolve Shareholder Derivative Litigation Press Release issued by FirstEnergy Corp., dated February 10, 2022
104	Cover Page Interactive Data File (the cover page XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

Forward-Looking Statements: This Form 8-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements include declarations regarding management's intents, beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the terms “anticipate,” “potential,” “expect,” "forecast," "target," "will," "intend," “believe,” "project," “estimate," "plan" and similar words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, which may include the following: risks associated with obtaining court approval of the definitive settlement agreement in the derivative cases, the potential liabilities, increased costs and unanticipated developments resulting from governmental investigations and agreements, including those associated with compliance with or failure to comply with the Deferred Prosecution Agreement entered into on July 21, 2021 with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio; the risks and uncertainties associated with government investigations regarding Ohio House Bill 6, as passed by Ohio’s 133rd General Assembly, and related matters including potential adverse impacts on federal or state regulatory matters including, but not limited to, matters relating to rates; the potential of non-compliance with debt covenants in our credit facilities; the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and similar proceedings; legislative and regulatory developments, including, but not limited to, matters related to rates, compliance and enforcement activity; the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from our FE Forward initiative and our other strategic and financial goals, including, but not limited to, overcoming current uncertainties and challenges associated with the ongoing government investigations, executing our transmission and distribution investment plans, greenhouse gas reduction goals, controlling costs, improving our credit metrics, growing earnings, strengthening our balance sheet, and satisfying the conditions necessary to close the sale of the minority interest in FirstEnergy Transmission, LLC; economic and weather conditions affecting future operating results, such as a recession, significant weather events and other natural disasters, and associated regulatory events or actions in response to such conditions; the risks associated with cyber-attacks and other disruptions to our, or our vendors’, information technology system, which may compromise our operations, and data security breaches of sensitive data, intellectual property and proprietary or personally identifiable information; mitigating exposure for remedial activities associated with retired and formerly owned electric generation assets; the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with our financial plans, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting us, including the increasing number of financial institutions evaluating the impact of climate change on their investment decisions; the extent and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related impacts to our business, operations and financial condition resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19 including, but not limited to, disruption of businesses in our territories, additional costs, workforce impacts and governmental and regulatory responses to the pandemic, such as moratoriums on utility disconnections and workforce vaccination mandates; the effectiveness of our pandemic and business continuity plans, the precautionary measures we are taking on behalf of our customers, contractors and employees, our customers’ ability to make their utility payment and the potential for supply-chain disruptions; actions that may be taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect either our access to or terms of financing or our financial condition and liquidity; changes in assumptions regarding factors such as economic conditions within our territories, the reliability of our transmission and distribution system, or the availability of capital or other resources supporting identified transmission and distribution investment opportunities; changes in customers’ demand for power, including, but not limited to, the impact of climate change or energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes in national and regional economic conditions, including recession and inflationary pressure, affecting us and/or our customers and those vendors with which we do business; the ability to comply with applicable reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes to environmental laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, those related to climate change; changing market conditions affecting the measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in our pension trusts, or causing us to make contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger, than currently anticipated; labor disruptions by our unionized workforce; changes to significant accounting policies; any changes in tax laws or regulations, or adverse tax audit results or rulings; and the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings. These forward-looking statements are also qualified by, and should be read together with, the risk factors included in FirstEnergy Corp.’s filings with the SEC, including, but not limited to, the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The foregoing review of factors also should not be construed as exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor assess the impact of any such factor on FirstEnergy Corp.’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy Corp. expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise, except as required by law, any forward-looking statements contained herein or in the information incorporated by reference 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 hereunto duly authorized.

February 10, 2022

	FIRSTENERGY CORP.
	Registrant
By:	/s/ Jason J. Lisowski
	Jason J. Lisowski Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

FirstEnergy Corp.	For Release: February 10, 2022
76 South Main Street
Akron, Ohio 44308
www.firstenergycorp.com
News Media Contact:	Investor Relations Contact:
Jennifer Young	Irene Prezelj
(216) 337-8789	(330) 384-3859

FirstEnergy Agrees on Terms to Resolve Shareholder Derivative Litigation

Akron, Ohio – FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) today announced that, acting through the Special Litigation Committee of its Board of Directors, it has agreed to a settlement term sheet to resolve derivative claims asserted on the company’s behalf and for the company’s benefit in multiple shareholder derivative lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, and the Ohio Court of Common Pleas, Summit County. The measures outlined in the settlement complement the substantial enhancements and actions that FirstEnergy and its Board of Directors have implemented to strengthen FirstEnergy’s governance and compliance program.

“The corporate governance provisions included in the settlement are aligned with the actions we have taken to move forward as a stronger organization,” said Donald T. Misheff, FirstEnergy non-executive chairman. “FirstEnergy achieved significant accomplishments in 2021, including two transformative transactions raising $3.4 billion, increasing our planned capital investments, continued operational excellence, and, importantly, prioritizing a culture of compliance and integrity.”

The settlement, which is subject to court approval, will fully resolve the derivative actions and stipulates a series of corporate governance enhancements, including:

•Six members of the Board of Directors who have served on the Board for a minimum of five years will not stand for re-election at the company’s 2022 annual shareholder meeting.

•A special committee will be formed at the direction of the Board of at least three recently appointed independent directors to initiate a review process of the current executive team, to begin within 30 days of the 2022 annual shareholder meeting.

•The Board will oversee the company’s lobbying and political activities, including periodically reviewing and approving political and lobbying action plans prepared by management.

•The Board will form a committee of recently appointed independent directors to oversee the implementation and third-party audits of the Board-approved action plans.

•The company will implement enhanced disclosure to shareholders of political and lobbying activities.

•The company will further align financial incentives of senior executives with proactive compliance with legal and ethical obligations.

The settlement also includes a payment to FirstEnergy of $180 million, to be paid by insurance after court approval, less any court-ordered attorney’s fees awarded to plaintiffs.

John W. Somerhalder II, FirstEnergy vice chair and executive director, added, “We are grateful to the outgoing Board members for their dedication and years of service. They began the hard work of instituting changes that form the foundation on which we are continuing to bring the company forward. With a refreshed and rightsized Board, we will continue to build on these important efforts to enable a brighter future for the organization.”

FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its ten electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements include declarations regarding management’s intents, beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the terms “anticipate,” “potential,” “expect,” “forecast,” “target,” “will,” “intend,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “plan,” and similar words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results,

performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, which may include the following: risks associated with obtaining court approval of the definitive settlement agreement in the derivative cases, the potential liabilities, increased costs and unanticipated developments resulting from governmental investigations and agreements, including those associated with compliance with or failure to comply with the Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the S.D. Ohio; the risks and uncertainties associated with government investigations regarding Ohio House Bill 6 and related matters including potential adverse impacts on federal or state regulatory matters including, but not limited to, matters relating to rates; the potential of non-compliance with debt covenants in our credit facilities; the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and similar proceedings; legislative and regulatory developments, including, but not limited to, matters related to rates, compliance and enforcement activity; the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from our FE Forward initiative and our other strategic and financial goals, including, but not limited to, maintaining financial flexibility, overcoming current uncertainties and challenges associated with the ongoing government investigations, executing our transmission and distribution investment plans, greenhouse gas reduction goals, controlling costs, improving our credit metrics, growing earnings, and strengthening our balance sheet through a sale of a minority interest in certain of our transmission assets and/or issuance of additional equity; economic and weather conditions affecting future operating results, such as a recession, significant weather events and other natural disasters, and associated regulatory events or actions in response to such conditions; mitigating exposure for remedial activities associated with retired and formerly owned electric generation assets; the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with our financial plans, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting us, including the increasing number of financial institutions evaluating the impact of climate change on their investment decisions; the extent and duration of COVID-19 and the impacts to our business, operations and financial condition resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19 including, but not limited to, disruption of businesses in our territories and governmental and regulatory responses to the pandemic; the effectiveness of our pandemic and business continuity plans, the precautionary measures we are taking on behalf of our customers, contractors and employees, our customers’ ability to make their utility payment and the potential for supply-chain disruptions; actions that may be taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect either our access to or terms of financing or our financial condition and liquidity; changes in assumptions regarding economic conditions within our territories, the reliability of our transmission and distribution system, or the availability of capital or other resources supporting identified transmission and distribution investment opportunities; changes in customers’ demand for power, including, but not limited to, the impact of climate change or energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes in national and regional economic conditions, including inflationary pressure, affecting us and/or our customers and those vendors with which we do business; the risks associated with cyber-attacks and other disruptions to our, or our vendors’, information technology system, which may compromise our operations, and data security breaches of sensitive data, intellectual property and proprietary or personally identifiable information; the ability to comply with applicable reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes to environmental laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, those related to climate change; changing market conditions affecting the measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in our pension trusts, or causing us to make contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger, than currently anticipated; labor disruptions by our unionized

workforce; changes to significant accounting policies; any changes in tax laws or regulations, or adverse tax audit results or rulings; and the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our SEC filings. Dividends declared from time to time on FirstEnergy Corp.’s common stock during any period may in the aggregate vary from prior periods due to circumstances considered by FirstEnergy Corp.’s Board of Directors at the time of the actual declarations. A security rating is not a recommendation to buy or hold securities and is subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. Each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. These forward-looking statements are also qualified by, and should be read together with, the risk factors included in FirstEnergy Corp.’s filings with the SEC, including, but not limited to, the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The foregoing review of factors also should not be construed as exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor assess the impact of any such factor on FirstEnergy Corp.’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy Corp. expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise, except as required by law, any forward-looking statements contained herein or in the information incorporated by reference as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

(021022)

XML

Cover Page	Feb. 09, 2022
Cover [Abstract]
Document Type	8-K
Document Period End Date	Feb. 09, 2022
Entity File Number	333-21011
Entity Registrant Name	FIRSTENERGY CORP
Entity Tax Identification Number	34-1843785
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	OH
Entity Address, Address Line One	76 South Main Street
Entity Address, City or Town	Akron
Entity Address, State or Province	OH
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	44308
City Area Code	(800)
Local Phone Number	736-3402
Written Communications	false
Soliciting Material	false
Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, $0.10 par value per share
Trading Symbol	FE
Security Exchange Name	NYSE
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Central Index Key	0001031296
Amendment Flag	false
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	8-K