FORT WAYNE, Dec. 17, 1999 — The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) yesterday approved American Electric Power's (NYSE: AEP) Settlement Agreement with the MPSC Staff in its Michigan Power Supply Cost Recovery (PSCR) cases. "This Order approves a settlement reached with the MPSC Staff that provides a positive solution for our customers and AEP," said John Sampson, AEP president for Michigan and Indiana. For customers, the agreement will: -- Reduce bills for all AEP customers. A typical residential customer in St. Joseph using 750 kWh per month will save 46 cents per month. In Three Rivers, a similar customer sill receive 37 cents per month. -- Pass on additional rate reductions annually in an ongoing effort to synchronize rates for AEP's Michigan customers. -- Virtually freeze rates through 2003 by limiting AEP's ability to file for a rate adjustment, except in dire emergencies. -- Freeze power supply costs through 2003 at a level expected to occur when the Cook Plant returns to service. In the meantime, AEP will be allowed to: -- Amortize over five years any unrecovered PSCR revenue accrued in 1997, 1998, and 1999. -- Defer and amortize non-fuel nuclear expenses over five years. -- Resolve all issues relating to the Cook Plant outage. "We're pleased to bring this matter to a close," said Sampson. "The MPSC Order allows us to avoid the time, expense, and uncertainty of further litigation and focus our attention on safely returning the Cook Nuclear Plant to service as soon as reasonably possible." AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States' largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 3 million customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, energy consulting and energy management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio. On Dec. 22, 1997, AEP announced a definitive merger agreement for a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction with Central and South West Corp., a public utility holding company based in Dallas.