Keeping Ohio's Lakeshore Roads Safe During Mayfly Season

AKRON, Ohio, June 3, 2024

AKRON, Ohio, June 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As communities along Lake Erie prepare for the mass arrival of mayflies this summer, FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) electric company Ohio Edison is proactively working with local municipalities to keep roads along the lakeshore safe by temporarily turning off streetlights to deter swarms of the insects. Mayflies are attracted to streetlights and can create hazardous driving conditions when large numbers accumulate along roads and bridges near the lights.

The annual emergence of the mayflies typically comes in late June and can last until September. In preparation for their arrival, Ohio Edison has started to suspend streetlight service along several roads in Port Clinton, Marblehead and Erie Township and will continue doing so over the next few weeks. The company will resume streetlight service once the hatching season ends.

Because the mayfly population has spiked along Lake Erie over the past decade, Ohio Edison partners with these lakeshore communities each summer to keep motorists and bikers safe during the mayfly season.

Nick Katsaros, External Affairs Consultant in FirstEnergy's Lake Erie Service Area: "Mayflies create a safety issue because their carcasses contain an oily substance that makes the surfaces they coat very slick, especially when it rains. By turning off the streetlights near the lake over the next few months, we can help discourage thousands, even millions, of mayflies from congregating near them."

Mayflies start their lives deep in the mud of Lake Erie and are especially sensitive to depleted oxygen levels. When the insects emerge from the water as adults, they live between 24 and 72 hours, which is why their hatching season is short.