COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 16, 2000 – American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) has been awarded the Edison Electric Institute´s (EEI) top land management award for the company´s reclamation and forestry efforts in southeastern Ohio. AEP received the award during a gala reception Monday evening at EEI´s Natural Resources Conference in Indianapolis.

Each year, EEI sponsors the National Land Management Awards program to recognize outstanding achievements in land management and environmental stewardship. Up to two award-winning nominations are chosen by a peer review panel of impartial utility land management specialists, natural resource agency staff members, and academic researchers from among those submitted by EEI U.S. members each year.

"We are especially pleased that EEI has honored our ongoing commitment to the area we call ReCreation Land," said Dale E. Heydlauff, vice president - environmental affairs. "One of our primary corporate goals is to strive to be an environmental leader. For almost forty years, ReCreation Land has served as the most visible example of our efforts to achieve that goal."

AEP was honored for its efforts to reclaim and develop the company´s 30,000-acre region known as ReCreation Land in southeast Ohio near McConnelsville. Since the mid-1940s, this area has been surface mined for coal and later reclaimed through the planting of more than 47 million trees. Today, AEP´s ReCreation Land offers for public use and at no charge more than 350 lakes and ponds and nearly 380 campsites equipped with sanitary facilities, drinking water, picnic shelters and other associated amenities. The area was officially opened to the public in 1961.

In 1998, ReCreation Land was recognized by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as the largest single outdoor recreation facility in Ohio and one of the most diverse in terms of all it has to offer its visitors. The area has earned high praise from visitors for its hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and horseback riding opportunities.

In addition, AEP works cooperatively with the Ohio Division of Wildlife to provide wildlife enforcement, stocked lakes and ponds, and other wildlife expertise. Over the past several years, AEP and the Division of Wildlife have worked together in a multitude of wildlife management practices, including deer, beaver, turkey, and pheasant releases, and the development of a Canadian Goose project.

AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States´ largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 3 million customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, energy consulting and energy management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio. On Dec. 22, 1997, AEP announced a definitive merger agreement for a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction with Central and South West Corp., a public utility holding company based in Dallas.