GAHANNA, Ohio, May 14, 2013 – AEP Ohio, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), and the AEP Ohio Transmission Company, propose to construct a new high-voltage, 138-kilovolt (kV) transmission line in Ross County.

         AEP Ohio will host a public information open house from 6 to 8 p.m. May 16 to discuss this new transmission line. The open house will at the Pioneer School of Developmental Disabilities, 11268 County Road 550, Chillicothe, Ohio, 45601.

         AEP proposes to build the new transmission line from its proposed Biers Run Station to its existing Delano Station. The Biers Run-Hopetown-Delano Line will be approximately 12 miles long depending on the route selected and will be located in Ross County. The line will run primarily through Union Township with a short section in Green Township. Construction is targeted to begin in fall 2014 and be complete in late 2015.

         The overall Biers Run Project is a major transmission reinforcement effort to help AEP maintain adequate transmission reliability in southern Ohio. The total project will allow the company to address reliability concerns about potential low voltages and thermal overloads under certain conditions. AEP studies indicate the performance of the company’s transmission system will be inadequate to provide the level of service its customers expect without this reinforcement plan.

         AEP will invest an estimated $97 million in the overall Biers Run Project to reinforce its transmission system in the area. The Biers Run-Hopetown-Delano line investment will be approximately $11.25 million. This line will provide an estimated $450,000 to $550,000 in additional tax revenue for local schools and communities. Biers Runs Station is an approximate $22 million investment. It is expected to provide between $1,000,000 and $1,135,000 in property taxes to local communities. AEP’s application for the proposed Biers Run Station is pending before the Ohio Power Siting Board.

         AEP’s project team is assembling information to include in its Biers Run-Hopetown-Delano line application to the power siting board. Comments received at the open house also will be included in the application. The siting board is a multi-agency board led by the chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. It is responsible for approving the location of major utility facilities within the state of Ohio.

         Additional information about this project can be found online at AEPOhio.com/BiersRunDelano. Information about Biers Run Station is available at AEPOhio.com/go/BiersRun. The public also can ask questions, make comments or express concerns about the project by leaving a detailed message and their contact information on the AEP Ohio Transmission Project Information Line at 877-215-9261. A project representative will return the call.
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AEP Ohio provides electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of major AEP subsidiaries Ohio Power Company in Ohio and Wheeling Power Company in the northern panhandle of West Virginia. AEP Ohio is based in Gahanna, Ohio, and is a unit of American Electric Power. News and information about AEP Ohio can be found at AEPOhio.com. 

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 and north Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. News releases and other information about AEP can be found at AEP.com.
                                                                                                                                      

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