CHARLESTON, W.Va., April 19, 2013 – Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power, both subsidiaries of American Electric Power (AEP), today filed a vegetation management plan with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia. The company’s proposed plan would move tree trimming and other vegetation management to a four-year cycle. It would take six years to fully ramp up to the new schedule.

Appalachian and Wheeling maintain 21,596 distribution line miles in West Virginia, along with an additional 3,898 transmission line miles. Currently, a reliability-based system of maintenance is used, with priority placed on circuits most in need of trimming.

The filing stems from a Commission order in January which requires all electric utilities in the state to propose such a plan and include a cost recovery method.

If approved as proposed, the increased right-of-way maintenance program will cost about $58 million on an annual basis and will be collected through a surcharge included in customers’ bills. About $11.6 million is already imbedded in customer rates for right-of-way maintenance.

Residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month will see their bills rise about $2.38 a month, an increase of 2.5 percent. The increase for other customer classes, like commercial or industrial customers, will range from 0.1 to 3.8 percent, depending on usage. Rates will not be put into effect until approved by the Commission. Customers in other states will not be affected.

“Reliable service is important to our customers, and it’s up to us to balance the need to keep prices as low as possible with the need to keep the lights on,” said Charles Patton, Appalachian Power president and COO. “Last summer’s Derecho shined a light on right-of-way maintenance. While a cycle trimming program will not protect against outages in major events like the Derecho and Sandy, it will result in more reliable electric service overall.”

Appalachian Power Distribution Operations Vice President Phil Wright said that customers will notice the benefits of cycle-based trimming.

“Customers will see tangible reliability benefits almost immediately after the program begins,” he said. He added that the program not only will enhance reliability but will help speed power restoration times and ultimately reduce some restoration costs.

                                                                                                                    ###

Appalachian Power provides electricity to 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power) and Wheeling Power provides electricity to customers primarily in Marshall and Ohio counties in West Virginia. Both companies are units of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with 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. 

                                                                                                                ###

This report made by American Electric Power and its Registrant 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 and performance of fuel suppliers and transporters; availability of generating capacity and the performance of AEP’s generating plants; AEP’s ability to recover regulatory assets and stranded costs in connection with deregulation; AEP’s ability to recover increases in fuel and other energy costs through regulated or competitive electric rates; AEP’s ability to build or acquire generating capacity (including the ability to obtain any necessary regulatory approvals and permits) when needed at acceptable prices and terms and to recover those costs (including the costs of projects that are canceled) through applicable rate cases or competitive rates; new legislation, litigation and government regulation, including requirements for reduced emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, mercury, carbon, soot or particulate matter and other substances; timing and resolution of pending and future rate cases, negotiations and other regulatory decisions (including rate or other recovery of new investments in generation, distribution and transmission service and environmental compliance); resolution of litigation (including disputes arising from the bankruptcy of Enron Corp. and related matters); AEP’s ability to constrain operation and maintenance costs; the economic climate and growth or contraction in AEP’s service territory and changes in market demand and demographic patterns; inflationary and interest rate trends; volatility in the financial markets, particularly developments affecting the availability of capital on reasonable terms and developments impacting AEP’s ability to refinance existing debt at attractive rates; 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 markets; actions of rating agencies, including changes in the ratings of debt; volatility and changes in markets for electricity, natural gas, coal, nuclear fuel and other energy-related commodities; changes in utility regulation, including the implementation of the recently passed utility law in Ohio and the allocation of costs within regional transmission organizations; accounting pronouncements periodically issued by accounting standard-setting bodies; the impact of volatility in the capital markets on the value of the investments held by AEP’s pension, other postretirement benefit plans and nuclear decommissioning trust and the impact on future funding requirements; 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.