FirstEnergy Corp.’s competitive arm FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) and several key subsidiaries, including FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. (FENOC), on March 31 sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. FirstEnergy said the move would facilitate an “orderly financial restructuring” and accelerate its strategy to become a fully regulated utility.

FES—the parent company of FE Aircraft Leasing Corp., FirstEnergy Generation, FirstEnergy Nuclear Generation—along with FirstEnergy Generation Mansfield Unit 1 Corp., Norton Energy Storage, and FENOC filed the voluntary petition seeking relief under Chapter 11 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

In aggregate, the companies have about $ 3.8 billion of funding indebtedness. FES, which sells power and related services to retail and wholesale customers in Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, in December 2017 reported total assets, liabilities, and capitalization of about $ 5.5 billion, but brought in revenues of about $ 3.1 billion.

FES holds about $ 1.5 billion of funded indebtedness, including a $ 700 million secured revolving credit facility; about $ 332 million of 6.05% of unsecured notes, which are due in 2021; about $ 363 million of 8.80% unsecured notes due in 2039; and a $ 150 million revolving credit note with Allegheny Energy Supply Co.,…

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