AUSTIN, Texas – AEP Texas Central Company (TCC), a Texas electric transmission and distribution unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), today filed with the Public Utility Commission of Texas for approval of a financing order to issue $1.804 billion in low-cost securitization bonds to fund the stranded costs and regulatory assets balance authorized by the commission.

The amount requested in the securitization filing includes the stranded costs and regulatory assets authorized in the commission’s order issued Feb. 16, plus carrying costs through the anticipated issuance date, Sept. 1, 2006.

“It benefits our customers if we move as quickly as possible to securitize the true-up balance,” said Michael G. Morris, AEP’s chairman, president and chief executive officer.  “By securitizing the balance at a low interest rate now instead of deferring the balance for recovery through the more traditional rate mechanisms, we will save our TCC customers hundreds of millions of dollars in interest charges over the 14-year recovery period.”

The Texas legislature authorized the securitization of true-up balances in the Texas Electric Choice Act of 1999, recognizing that securitization would reduce costs to customers as utilities recovered stranded costs created by the state’s move to a competitive electricity marketplace.

Securitization of the stranded cost true-up balance allows companies to sell bonds to immediately recover stranded costs due from customers, then collect a “wires charge” from the customers over a period of years to repay the bonds.

TCC anticipates a financing order approximately three months after today’s filing. TCC expects to issue securitization bonds in the third quarter.

TCC also plans a separate filing, to be made in the second quarter, for a competitive transition charge (CTC) to address a $475-million credit to customers from true-up proceedings.  TCC estimates that the combined effect of the securitization and the CTC credit on its wires charges will be an increase of approximately $4.93 per month for a TCC residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month.

The securitization and CTC proceedings are the last major regulatory proceedings in the overall process of enacting the Texas Electric Choice Act of 1999.

TCC delivers electricity to approximately 680,000 customers in south Texas. TCC and AEP Texas North Company, which delivers electricity to approximately 175,000 customers in central and western Texas, do business as AEP Texas.

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 is the nation’s largest generator of electricity, owning more than 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.  AEP’s utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas).  American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2006.

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This report made by AEP and certain of its subsidiaries contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  Although AEP and each of its registrant subsidiaries believe that their expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any such statements may be influenced by factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different from those projected. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are: electric load and customer growth; weather conditions, including storms; available sources and costs of, and transportation for, fuels and the creditworthiness of fuel suppliers and transporters; availability of generating capacity and the performance of AEP’s generating plants; the ability to recover regulatory assets and stranded costs in connection with deregulation; the ability to recover increases in fuel and other energy costs through regulated or competitive electric rates; new legislation, litigation and government regulation including requirements for reduced emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, mercury, carbon and other substances; timing and resolution of pending and future rate cases, negotiations and other regulatory decisions (including rate or other recovery for new investments, transmission service and environmental compliance);resolution of litigation (including pending Clean Air Act enforcement actions and disputes arising from the bankruptcy of Enron Corp.); AEP´s ability to constrain its operation and maintenance costs; AEP´s ability to sell assets at acceptable prices and on other acceptable terms, including rights to share in earnings derived from the assets subsequent to their sale; the economic climate and growth in AEP´s service territory and changes in market demand and demographic patterns; inflationary trends; AEP´s ability to develop and execute a strategy based on a view regarding prices of electricity, natural gas, and other energy-related commodities; changes in the creditworthiness of the counterparties with whom AEP has contractual arrangements, including participants in the energy trading market; changes in the financial markets, particularly those affecting the availability of capital and AEP´s ability to refinance existing debt at attractive rates; actions of rating agencies, including changes in the ratings of debt; volatility and changes in markets for electricity, natural gas, and other energy-related commodities; changes in utility regulation, including membership in regional transmission structures; accounting pronouncements periodically issued by accounting standard-setting bodies; the performance of AEP´s pension and other postretirement benefit plans; prices for power that AEP generates and sells at wholesale; changes in technology, particularly with respect to new, developing or alternative sources of generation, and other risks and unforeseen events, including wars, the effects of terrorism (including increased security costs), embargoes and other catastrophic events.