TULSA, Okla., Dec. 20, 2007 – In response to last week’s devastating ice storm that left hundreds of thousands without power in northeastern Oklahoma, the American Electric Power Foundation has provided a $250,000 grant to The Salvation Army to create the Ice Storm Disaster Relief Fund to help individuals in five counties with the recovery effort.  

The grant dollars will be distributed through The Salvation Army – Tulsa.  The funding will provide assistance to qualified individuals to defray expenses to make the property habitable, provided the costs are not covered by insurance or funding through the Federal Energy Management Agency.

The dollars will be distributed in five counties where PSO customers were hardest hit – Tulsa ($150,000); Rogers ($25,000); Nowata ($25,000); Craig ($25,000) and Grady ($25,000).

“Over a quarter million PSO customers in northeastern Oklahoma lost power in the storm, and many others were adversely impacted.   The relief effort for this unprecedented storm will require a significant response,” PSO President and COO Stuart Solomon said.  “We are grateful to our customers for their patience with us and we are pleased that the AEP Foundation really stepped up and made a significant contribution, which can be used to help individuals who need it most.”

“The AEP Foundation grant is exactly what is needed to assist with families that had damages to their homes but no means to make the needed repairs,” said Salvation Army-Tulsa Area Commander Major Daniel New.
 
The American Electric Power Foundation is funded by American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and its utility operating units. The Foundation provides a permanent, ongoing resource for charitable initiatives involving higher dollar values and multi-year commitments in the communities served by AEP and initiatives outside of AEP’s 11-state service area.

The Foundation’s areas of focus include special emphasis on improving lives through education from early childhood through higher education, protecting the environment, providing basic human services in the areas of hunger, housing, health and safety, and enriching life through art, music and cultural heritage. 

The Foundation is based in Columbus, Ohio. 

PSO, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), is an electric utility company serving approximately 520,000 customers in eastern and southwestern Oklahoma.  Based in Tulsa, PSO has more than 4,000 megawatts of generating capacity, and is the largest provider of wind energy in the state.  News releases and other information about PSO can be found on the World Wide Web at PSOklahoma.com.