Leva reviews successful year, key strategies for GPU shareholders.

MORRISTOWN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 1996--With earnings and performance results above target in 1995, General Public Utilities Corp. remains in excellent financial health, the company's shareholders learned today.

James R. Leva, GPU chairman, president and chief executive officer, reviewed financial results for 1995 as well as the corporation's key strategies for the future at the 50th annual meeting of GPU shareholders in the Morris Museum here.

"Our results for 1995 are concrete evidence of how hard we're working both to protect and add to shareholder value as we face an increasingly competitive future," Leva told the shareholders.

Driving GPU's move to a more competitive energy marketplace are five key strategies:

-- Strengthen and expand GPU's distribution business,

-- Maximize existing generation asset values,

-- Position GPU for industry deregulation and restructuring,

-- Seek earnings growth from new core-related business

initiatives, and

-- Nurture GPU System and individual business unit cultures.

One recent action that will help GPU implement these strategies is the consolidation, under one management team, of the three GPU operating utility subsidiaries: Metropolitan Edison, Pennsylvania Electric and Jersey Central Power & Light. (Met-Ed and Penelec were combined under a single management team in 1994.) The new Energy Services and Delivery organization will serve GPU's 1.9 million customers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Leva also discussed the governmental approvals received earlier this year for GPU Generation Corp., which was formed to operate and maintain the company's fossil-fueled and hydroelectric generating plants.

Legislative and regulatory issues will affect GPU's future, as well.

"One of our top priorities is the repeal or reform of two federal laws, the Public Utility Holding Company Act and the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act. Both laws are outdated and are no longer relevant, given the changing structure of our industry," Leva stated.

At the state level, the presidents of the operating companies have told regulators that five principles should govern the transition to a more competitive future: customer choice, an orderly and expeditious transition, fairness, protection of the environment and reliability.

"Our primary responsibility is to supply our customers with competitively priced, reliable electric service," Leva said. "But we must also insure that future rates permit the GPU companies to recover costs that were prudently incurred to provide service under the existing regulatory framework."

Leva noted that the GPU companies have successfully terminated or renegotiated several uneconomic contracts with non-utility generators.

As for growing the business, Leva said that Energy Initiatives had a successful year with two joint acquisitions, the first a generating company in Bolivia and the second a distribution business in Australia.

Other initiatives GPU has taken include:

-- Forming a power marketing group to enhance GPU's technical

competence in the power supply market,

-- Establishing a corporate development group to pursue new

business opportunities in such areas as distributed

generation and retail energy services, and

-- Continuing to change the culture at GPU to one of

performance, accountability, and setting and achieving goals.

Leva began his remarks by reviewing GPU's financial performance for 1995.

Net income, excluding several non-recurring items, was $343.6 million, or $2.95 a share, up from 1994 net income of $328.4 million, or $2.85 a share.

Earlier this year, the Board of Directors approved a 3.2 percent increase in the quarterly common stock dividend, to 48.5 cents a share, or $1.94 on an annualized basis. Last year, the dividend was increased by 4.4 percent, to $1.88 a share on an annualized basis.

Cash construction expenditures were $462 million in 1995, down from $586 million in 1994. GPU expects to spend $491 million this year.

General Public Utilities Corp. is a registered utility holding company. Its three operating utility subsidiaries -- JCP&L, Met-Ed and Penelec -- provide electric service to some 1.9 million customers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

GPU's Energy Initiatives Group develops, owns and operates generation, transmission and distribution facilities domestically and abroad.

Other GPU subsidiaries are GPU Generation; GPU Nuclear, which operates the System's nuclear generating facilities, and GPU Service, a service company.

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