COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 12, 2001 - AEP Energy Services Ltd., the London-based European wholesale energy marketing and trading subsidiary of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), has acquired existing contracts and hired key staff from the Enron international coal team.

The addition of the London-based coal marketing organization provides AEP Energy Services’ European wholesale group with an established capability for procurement, transportation and delivery of coal across geographic regions. The transaction includes existing marketing offices and staff in the UK, Germany, Australia and China, and existing contracts in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Colombia, South Africa, Indonesia, Poland, Russia and Venezuela.

AEP Energy Services purchased the contracts today from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the administrators of Enron Capital & Trade Resources Ltd. bankruptcy proceedings in the UK. AEP Energy Services also hired 22 former Enron employees, the leaders from that very successful coal marketing organization.

“We are aggressively building our wholesale energy capabilities in the United Kingdom and Europe, using our very successful U.S. wholesale structure as a model,” said Hank Jones, senior vice president with AEP Energy Services and head of AEP’s wholesale business in Europe. “Although today’s deal pertains to people and contracts instead of a major capital expenditure for assets, it represents a major milestone in our growth.

“This deal provides us with immediate expertise in global coal logistics, trading and marketing, positioning AEP Energy Services to be a leader in coal markets in the UK and Europe,” Jones said. “It also provides us with the ability to capture locational arbitrage, allowing us to benefit from differences in coal prices in various parts of the world.”

American Electric Power’s growth strategy focuses on key aspects of the wholesale fuel and power generation value chain - generation and related energy assets, wholesale marketing and trading of energy commodities, fuel procurement and transportation and related activities. AEP Energy Services’ London office markets and trades power, natural gas and coal in the UK and Europe.

“I’m pleased that our team is joining AEP and will continue playing a central role in the transformation of coal markets,” said Stuart Staley, head of Enron’s coal team who will assume a similar position with AEP Energy Services. “We will continue our work to bring price transparency and greater liquidity and efficiency to the coal marketplace.”

In a separate transaction, AEP Energy Services announced Monday that it had signed a five-year sublease for capacity on the Interconnector gas pipeline connecting Great Britain with mainland Europe. The sublease provides AEP Energy Services with 500,000 therms a day forward flow (approximately 50 million cubic feet per day) and 210,000 therms of reverse flow (approximately 20 million cubic feet per day). Financial terms of the sublease were not disclosed.

“The Interconnector agreement underscores our commitment to the evolving European gas market,” Jones said.

In October, AEP Energy Services announced plans to acquire 4,000 megawatts of UK coal-fired generation from Edison Mission Energy. The transaction to acquire the Fiddlers Ferry and Ferrybridge plants should close by the end of the year.

American Electric Power is a multinational energy company based in Columbus, Ohio. AEP owns and operates more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity, making it America’s largest generator of electricity. The company is also a leading wholesale energy marketer and trader, ranking second in North America in wholesale electricity and wholesale natural gas volume. AEP provides retail electricity to more than 7 million customers worldwide and has holdings in the U.S. and select international markets. Wholly owned subsidiaries are involved in power engineering and construction services, energy management and telecommunications.