AEP Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) has announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) for renewable energy to help fulfill energy-supply requirements for its customers.
The request was issued for SWEPCO and its sister company, Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), by parent company American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP). Proposals for up to 250 megawatts of renewable-energy generation within the Southwest Power Pool, which includes SWEPCO and PSO, are due Dec. 1, 2004. AEP expects to complete agreements with any successful bidders in March 2005.
            AEP is seeking bids from renewable-energy providers that could place new generating facilities into service by Dec. 31, 2005.
            “We believe renewable energy can be an important part of the generating resources serving our customers in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas,” said Nick Akins, SWEPCO president and chief operating officer. “It can further diversify our generating fleet and continue our commitment to providing affordable, reliable electric service.”
The recently extended federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) provides owners of renewable resources a tax credit equal to $18 per megawatt-hour for 10 years beginning on the facilities’ in-service date. It applies to renewable energy resources that are operational by the end of 2005. Generation technologies eligible to bid into the RFPs include wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, biomass and biomass-based waste products, including landfill gas.
The RFP and related information can be accessed at http://www.aep.com/go/RenewablesRFP
SWEPCO, a unit of American Electric Power, serves 442,000 customers in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. Headquartered in Shreveport, La., SWEPCO owns 5,234 megawatts of generating capacity and offers some of the lowest energy prices in the United States.
American Electric Power owns more than 36,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and is the nation’s largest electricity generator. AEP is also one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with more than 5 million customers linked to AEP’s 11-state electricity transmission and distribution grid. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.
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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; available sources and costs of fuels; 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; new legislation and government regulation including requirements for reduced emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, mercury, carbon and other substances; resolution of pending and future rate cases, negotiations and other regulatory decisions (including rate or other recovery for environmental compliance); oversight and/or investigation of the energy sector or its participants; resolution of litigation (including pending Clean Air Act enforcement actions and disputes arising from the bankruptcy of Enron Corp.); AEP´s ability to reduce its operation and maintenance costs; the success of disposing of investments that no longer match AEP´s business model; AEP´s ability to sell assets at acceptable prices and on other acceptable terms; international and country-specific developments affecting foreign investments including the disposition of any foreign investments; 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 and number of 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 and preferred stock; volatility and changes in markets for electricity, natural gas, and other energy-related commodities; changes in utility regulation, including the establishment of a regional transmission structure; accounting pronouncements periodically issued by accounting standard-setting bodies; the performance of AEP´s pension plan; prices for power that AEP generates and sells at wholesale; changes in technology and other risks and unforeseen events, including wars and the effects of terrorism.