COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 21, 2017 – American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) announced today that Robert P. (Bob) Powers, vice chairman, will retire from the company Aug. 4.

 “AEP has benefited immensely from Bob’s leadership, wealth of knowledge and dedication to ongoing improvement,” said Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer. “I’ve worked with Bob for nearly two decades, and his commitment to the safety of our employees and to excellence in our operations is unmatched. His leadership of our utility operations has contributed greatly to our regulatory and financial successes in recent years as we refocused on investment in our regulated operations to benefit customers. We will miss his contributions both as a leader and colleague, but wish him all the best in his retirement.” 

Prior to his current position, Powers, 63, was executive vice president and chief operating officer at AEP for six years. He also was president – AEP Utilities for three years and served as executive vice president – AEP Utilities East, executive vice president – Generation and vice president – Nuclear and Technical Services during his 19 years with the company. Powers joined AEP in 1998 as senior vice president – Nuclear Generation.

Powers currently serves on the board of directors for the Wexner Center for the Arts and the James Cancer Center Foundation Board, both in Columbus, Ohio. He previously was a board member for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and The Wilds and served on the Dean’s Advisory Council for The Ohio State University Engineering department. Powers has held leadership positions in the utility industry during his career, including serving on the Electric Power Research Institute board of directors, as chairman of the board of the Center for Energy Workforce Development and as a member of the National Nuclear Training Accreditation Board.

There are no current plans to fill the vice chair position after Powers’ retirement.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million customers in 11 states. AEP owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a more than 40,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP also operates 224,000 miles of distribution lines. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning approximately 26,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP supplies 3,200 megawatts of renewable energy to customers. 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.