FirstEnergy Corp. announced that Joseph (Joe) McClelland has been named vice president, External Affairs, effective July 18. McClelland will be responsible for overseeing all government relations activities for the company, including local, state and federal affairs, and engaging with policymakers on legislation that may impact FirstEnergy's customers and operations.

He will report to Sam Belcher, senior vice president, Operations. McClelland most recently served as director of the Office of Energy Infrastructure Security (OEIS) at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Appointed to this role in September 2012, McClelland led FERC's external affairs efforts related to OEIS activities and assisted in identifying, communicating and seeking comprehensive solutions to potential risks to FERC-jurisdictional facilities from cyber and physical security threats.

Prior to directing OEIS, McClelland served as the first director of FERC's Office of Electric Reliability, which was created in 2007. He joined FERC in 2004 as director of the Division of Reliability within the Office of Energy Markets and Reliability. Before joining FERC, McClelland had more than 20 years of experience in the electric utility industry.

He began his career with Allegheny Energy Inc. (now part of FirstEnergy), holding a variety of positions in engineering, marketing, regulation and rates and project development. Immediately prior to joining FERC, McClelland was the general manager of the Custer Public Power District in Broken Bow, Nebraska. McClelland earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University.