CHARLESTON, W.Va., October 20, 2006 – Appalachian Power today announced a reward of up to $2,500 for information that results in the arrest and conviction of individuals involved in vandalizing or stealing from the company’s electrical facilities.

The company began offering the reward earlier this year for information specifically related to copper theft, but today extended the offer to those who provide information that results in the arrest and conviction of power line vandals. Each year near Halloween, vandals in some rural areas of southern West Virginia cut trees so that they fall on top of power lines. Within the past two weeks, incidents of power line vandalism have occurred in Mingo, Logan, Boone and Kanawha counties, leaving thousands of customers without power.

“At least three people in our West Virginia service area have lost their lives this year attempting to steal electrical facilities,” said Gary McGraw, the company’s security coordinator. “Both vandalism and theft of electrical facilities are extremely dangerous activities that we clearly want to stop.”

McGraw encouraged citizens with knowledge of vandalism or theft of Appalachian Power facilities to confidentially share the information by calling the company’s toll-free security hotline, 1-866-747-5845, or by calling the West Virginia State Police.

Appalachian Power provides electricity to 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 36,000 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.