Company announces goal in 2009 Corporate Sustainability Report released today

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 28, 2009 – American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) is doubling its goal of adding 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy to 2,000 MW by the end of 2011, with regulatory support. The goal is one of 12 new targets announced in the company’s third annual Corporate Sustainability Report released today at http://www.AEP.com/cr. This will bring the company’s total renewable energy portfolio to more than 2,600 MW by the end of 2011.

AEP has added 903 MW of wind generation since 2007, when the company committed to its original goal of adding 1,000 MW.

“Continuing to diversify our fuel mix with more renewable resources will allow us to meet our customers’ energy needs and reduce our carbon footprint,” said Michael G. Morris, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We can support development of a lower-carbon energy future through a combination of increasing renewable energy; driving the development of a new, interstate extra-high voltage transmission system to bring that renewable energy to market; promoting energy efficiency; and further developing advanced coal technologies such as carbon capture and storage.”

AEP’s Sustainability Report outlines issues that affect the company’s long-term sustainability, including climate change; environmental performance; public policy; energy security, reliability and growth; work force issues; stakeholder engagement; and leadership, management and strategy. The report was prepared according to principles established by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a voluntary framework used by organizations worldwide to measure and report their economic, environmental and social performance. It also was reviewed by GRI to ensure AEP reported on all core performance indicators.

The report details AEP’s support of a federal energy policy and an economywide cap-and-trade program that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, keep the cost of electricity reasonable for customers and foster international participation to address climate change. It also identifies the steps AEP is taking to reduce and offset its greenhouse gas emissions, including demonstrating carbon capture and storage technology, making power plants more efficient, reducing energy consumption in its facilities, incorporating more flex-fuel and hybrid vehicles into its fleet, installing 70-kilowatt solar systems at two facilities, and offsetting emissions through forestry and agricultural methane capture programs.

AEP also set a new energy efficiency goal in 2009 to reduce consumption by 2.25 million megawatt-hours by the end of 2012. This complements a goal set in 2007 to reduce energy demand by 1,000 MW by 2012.

“Today’s economic challenges will require us to think more creatively about how to fulfill our sustainability commitments to protect people and the environment,” Morris said. “This includes continuing to work with our regulators, policymakers and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive energy policy and the alternative regulatory structures that will allow the electric industry to help drive our country’s economic recovery, address climate change and ensure that we have the talent and resources to develop new technologies that will meet our customers’ needs in the future.”

Eight of the 12 new goals presented in the Sustainability Report are related to work force issues. In addition to the company’s goal to prevent employee injuries and illnesses, AEP is measuring the safety performance of its contractors and has set a goal to reduce contractor injuries by 5 percent in 2009 and 10 percent in 2010. The company also has set a target of eliminating preventable public fatalities and contacts with its electrical facilities.

“The safety and health of our employees, contractors and the public is a core value for AEP,” said Dennis Welch, executive vice president – environment, safety & health and facilities. “We are focused on putting in place the right policies, systems and training to protect the public and everyone who works for us from the dangers of electricity.”

As part of AEP’s focus on sustainability, company management met with more than 100 stakeholders during the past year to receive input about the company and its business practices. Stakeholders included state and federal regulators, power plant neighbors, community leaders, environmental organizations, customers, employees, investors and educators. For the first time, AEP’s Sustainability Report includes an unedited letter from the Ceres stakeholder team, a coalition of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups that works with companies to address sustainability challenges.

“We have committed to being candid and transparent about our business and the impact it has on the environment and society,” Welch said. “By listening to all of our stakeholders, we gain a better understanding of their expectations and can make more informed business decisions. We also can identify opportunities to collaborate with these groups on issues of mutual interest.”

AEP’s Corporate Sustainability Report is available online at http://www.AEP.com/cr. Printed copies of the report also can be requested through the Web site.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.