FirstEnergy Corp. needs to do more to develop wind and solar power and to promote energy efficiency, according to a new report.

The Akron-based utility got a grade of F for its shortcomings, mostly in developing solar power and promoting energy efficiency, said Environment Ohio, a statewide eco-group based in Columbus, in news conferences on Tuesday in Akron and Cleveland. 

Ohio's other major investor-owned utilities are doing a better job than FirstEnergy, said Environment Ohio spokesman Julian Boggs.

His group gave both Duke Energy and Dayton Power & Light grades of A. Columbus-based American Electric Power got a grade of B.

FirstEnergy would likely get a higher grade if the report looked not just at 2009 but at 2010, said company spokesman Mark Durbin.

"If they had used current data, it would show us in a different perspective," he said.

The utility has signed a recent agreement to buy wind-produced electricity from a new wind turbine complex planned in Van Wert County in western Ohio, he said.

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