FirstEnergy wins $57.4 million in federal grants

AKRON, Ohio

FirstEnergy Corp. said Thursday that it has won $57.4 million in grants from the Energy Department to improve "smart grid" technologies in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The money will go toward programs intended to improve the performance of energy distribution systems and provide incentives to customers to reduce energy use.

The slated projects in the three states are estimated to cost a total of $114.9 million. Utility commissions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania have approved matching funds for the programs in their states, FirstEnergy said in a statement.

Ohio is still reviewing the project proposal.

FirstEnergy said it was one of 100 companies selected by the Energy Department to receive the smart grid grants.

Shares of FirstEnergy advanced 58 cents to $35.40 in afternoon trading.