FIRSTENERGY Nuke-plant woes cause earnings drop

AKRON (AP) -- FirstEnergy Corp.'s first-quarter earnings dropped 20 percent, hurt by continuing costs of repairing the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant, buying replacement electricity and customers who shopped elsewhere for power.
FirstEnergy said Friday it earned $174 million, or 53 cents per share, compared with first-quarter 2003 earnings of $218.5 million, or 74 cents per share.
Earnings beat the 44-cent forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.
Revenues were $3.18 billion, down from $3.22 billion for the same period last year.
Davis-Besse
The impact of repairing the Davis-Besse plant, which went back on line last month, trimmed profits by $38.3 million, or 12 cents per share, the company said.
The plant near Toledo was shut down for about two years following the discovery of a leak that had allowed boric acid to eat nearly through the 6-inch-thick steel cap covering the plant's reactor vessel.
The Akron-based utility has spent more than $600 million making repairs at the plant and buying replacement power for customers since March 2002.
FirstEnergy, which has generating companies in New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania, spent $64 million to replace power lost while Davis-Besse was shut down during the most recent quarter.
FirstEnergy blamed the decline in revenues on Ohio customers who bought power from other utilities, milder weather and the impact of a rate case involving its New Jersey operating company, Jersey Central Power & amp; Light.