GAHANNA, Ohio, July 8, 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 substation in Cass Township in Hancock County.

         AEP Ohio will host a public information open house from 6 to 8 p.m. July 11 to discuss this new transmission station. The open house will be at Owens Community College, Conference Center Room 111, 3200 Bright Road, Findlay, Ohio. The open house format allows the public to visit individual project displays and speak directly to project management and project engineers about the various aspects of the proposed project. No formal presentation will be given.

        AEP proposes to build the new station on a 67-acre property northeast of Findlay. The proposed station will allow the company to address reliability concerns about potential low voltages during certain contingency conditions. The company also would make improvements at several existing substations. This includes replacing and upgrading several existing towers and structures.

        AEP studies indicate that without this reinforcement plan, the performance of the company’s transmission system will be inadequate to provide the level of service that its customers expect. The project will resolve voltage concerns in this area by establishing a new 138-kV source in the Findlay area, reinforcing the existing system.  The station project is an approximate $11.2 million investment AEP is making in the area. The project will provide approximately 20 construction jobs at peak construction. 

         In addition to improving AEP’s transmission system and enhancing reliability, the new substation will provide capacity for economic growth in the area.
 Construction is targeted to begin in summer 2014 and be complete in summer 2015.  

        AEP’s project team is assembling information, including public feedback gathered at the July 11 public information open house, to include in its application to the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB). OPSB, a multi-agency board led by the chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, is responsible for approving the location of major utility facilities within the state of Ohio.

       Additional information about the project is available at AEPOhio.com/Ebersole. 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 toll free 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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