GAHANNA, Ohio, April 24, 2013 — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently presented AEP Ohio, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), a Partner of the Year Award for its Efficient Products program.

AEP Ohio offers a variety of energy efficiency programs and discounts to help residential customers save money and energy. The Efficient Products program includes energy efficient lighting discounts for CFL and LED light bulbs, and appliance rebates for ENERGY STAR® certified refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, high efficiency electric water heaters and heat pump water heaters.

“We are committed to our partnership with ENERGY STAR to help our customers save more through energy efficiency programs,” said Pablo Vegas, AEP Ohio president and chief operating officer. “Our Efficient Products program offers customers a variety of energy efficiency options to save money and energy.”

Over the past 20 years, with help from ENERGY STAR, American families and businesses have saved more than $230 billion on utility bills and prevented more than 1.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

2012 AEP Ohio Key Energy Efficiency Program Accomplishments:

• Encouraged the sale of more than 3.5 million ENERGY STAR certified products, while also distributing ENERGY STAR certified lighting to lower income customers in partnership with the Mid-Ohio Food Bank
• Influenced the sale of more than 24,000 ENERGY STAR certified appliances while permanently removing from the grid and responsibly recycling 15,000 old, inefficient refrigerators and freezers
• Conducted more than 50 in-store education events and 32 community outreach events, including seven ENERGY STAR Day events to support "Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR" 

The U.S. EPA also presented AEP Ohio and Columbia Gas of Ohio with its 2013 ENERY STAR Partner of the Year Award for the second consecutive year for the companies’ co-sponsored ENERGY STAR® New Homes program.

The New Homes program, which is an unprecedented partnership between two separate gas and electric utilities, was selected for its commitment to energy efficiency and building homes that meet or exceed the national ENERGY STAR New Homes requirements while being up to 35 percent or more energy efficient than traditionally built new homes.

The partnership to jointly deliver their ENERGY STAR New Homes program offers homebuyers in AEP Ohio’s and Columbia Gas of Ohio’s service territories a selection of new homes with greater energy savings and value built right in. The program also assists homebuilders in meeting or exceeding stricter energy codes.

“We are proud of our New Homes program offered in partnership with Columbia Gas of Ohio,” said Vegas. “Through advanced building practices, this program allows customers to use 20 to 50 percent less energy than conventionally built homes.”

2012 AEP Ohio Key New Homes Energy Efficiency Accomplishments:

• Enrolled 77 builders and 21 raters, and provided incentives for more than 900 ENERGY STAR certified homes, a 67 percent increase from 2011
• Generated 2,600 megawatt-hours in annual savings from ENERGY STAR certified homes
• Provided regular training opportunities to approximately 300 program participants, trade allies and stakeholders, including the innovative "Selling High Performance Homes" training

“The partnership between AEP Ohio and Columbia Gas of Ohio sets the bar for promoting energy-efficient products and services that help Americans learn how to save money and energy while protecting the environment,” said Bob Perciasepe, Acting Administrator, U.S. EPA. “The AEP Ohio/Columbia Gas of Ohio ENERGY STAR New Homes Program demonstrates how communities across the nation can protect the climate through greater energy efficiency and provide a road map for future program implementers.”

The ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Awards for Energy Efficiency Program Delivery are given to a variety of organizations in recognition of their efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution. Award winners are selected from the nearly 20,000 organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program.

Investor-owned utilities in Ohio are required to meet specific energy reduction targets. AEP Ohio’s overall energy efficiency and peak demand response efforts were established to meet the State of Ohio target of reducing electricity consumption 22 percent by the end of 2025.  For more information about AEP Ohio’s energy efficiency consumer programs, events and tips, visit AEPOhio.com/Rebates.

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.        

Columbia Gas of Ohio safely delivers clean and efficient natural gas to approximately 1.4 million customers in 61 of Ohio’s 88 counties. With headquarters in Columbus, it is one of the seven energy distribution companies of NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) and is the largest natural gas utility in the state. Columbia Gas of Ohio offers a variety of programs designed to help its residential and small business customers save energy and money on their energy bills, while maintaining the comfort of their homes and businesses and doing something positive for the environment at the same time. For more information about Columbia’s energy-efficiency programs, visit ColumbiaGasOhio.com.

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money, and help protect the environment for future generations. Nearly 20,000 organizations are ENERGY STAR partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, and buildings. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).