AEP Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) is seeking proposals for new generation to supplement existing power supply resources to effectively meet customers’ energy needs.  A draft Request for Proposal (RFP) to add new generation through a competitive bid process was filed with the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) Sept. 12, 2005.
             The draft RFP, pending LPSC approval, seeks solutions to SWEPCO’s short-term and long-term capacity needs. The short-term portion of the RFP seeks proposals to meet peak power needs of 2006 through 2009. In addition, SWEPCO is soliciting new resources to satisfy the company’s long-term capacity and energy requirements. The company intends to submit “self-build” proposals to meet capacity needs as well.
“The process for adding generating capacity has changed since SWEPCO last built power plants in the mid 1980s,” said Nick Akins, SWEPCO president and chief operating officer. “The competitive bidding process ensures customers will benefit by providing a thorough evaluation of all available energy options.”
             SWEPCO will be seeking bids for the following resource or product types:
·         Up to 500 megawatts of new peaking capacity and associated energy by 2008;
·         Up to 500 megawatts of intermediate capacity and associated energy by 2010; and,
·         Up to 600 megawatts of base-load capacity and energy by 2011.
Potential site reviews continue and multiple technologies for base-load capacity, including integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC), pulverized coal and circulating fluidized bed combustion will be evaluated.
             “The competitive bid process ensures SWEPCO’s need for additional capacity will be met in an efficient, fair and cost-effective manner,” said Akins.
             The draft RFP was made available on the company’s web site Sept. 12 at http://www.SWEPCO.com/go/rfp
SWEPCO, a unit of American Electric Power, is an electric utility company serving approximately 442,000 customers in northwest Louisiana, East Texas and the western edge of Arkansas.   Based in Shreveport, SWEPCO offers some of the lowest energy prices in the United States.  
SWEPCO’s parent company, American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), owns more than 36,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and is the nation´s largest electricity generator.  AEP is also one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with more than 5 million customers linked to AEP’s 11-state electricity transmission and distribution grid.  The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.
 
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News releases and other information about SWEPCO can be found on the World Wide Web at http://swepco.com.