COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 27, 2011 – Dennis E. Welch has been promoted to executive vice president and chief administrative officer of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), effective Oct. 1.

Welch, 60, has served as executive vice president – Environment, Safety & Health and Facilities since December 2007. He joined AEP in 2005 as senior vice president – Environment and Safety. In his new role, Welch will add Shared Services – which includes Information Technology, Human Resources and Business Logistics – to his current responsibilities. Welch will report to AEP President Nicholas K. Akins.

“Dennis is a proven leader with a unique ability to build relationships that have helped AEP achieve success in many areas, including our environmental and sustainability efforts,” Akins said. “His commitment to improving the company’s safety and health performance, ensuring regulatory compliance and advocating for better public policy has been a great asset. I look forward to his continued contributions to AEP in his new role.”

From 2001 to 2005, Welch served as president and chief operating officer of Yankee Energy System, an operating subsidiary of Northeast Utilities (NU). A 20-year veteran of NU, Welch previously served as vice president of Environmental, Safety & Ethics, director of Environmental Health and Safety and manager of Occupational Safety at NU. Prior to joining NU, Welch held various positions at Stone & Webster Engineering.

Welch earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental, health and safety management from Indiana State University at Terre Haute and a master’s degree in business and human resource management from the Hartford Graduate Center of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He completed the Environmental Leadership Program at Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

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.