COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 28, 2003 - Stephen P. Smith has joined American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) as senior vice president - corporate accounting, planning and strategy. Smith will oversee AEP’s financial planning and reporting functions.

Smith, 42, reports to Susan Tomasky, executive vice president - policy, finance and strategic planning and chief financial officer.

“Stephen brings valuable skills and significant energy industry experience in the areas of financial reporting and oversight. In this time of increased attention on corporate financial reporting processes, his focus will be on integrating our accounting, planning and strategy functions in order to streamline and enhance our financial reporting systems,” Tomasky said.

Smith comes to AEP from NiSource, where he has been president and chief operating officer - Corporate Services since November 2000. Smith managed NiSource’s Shared Services Center and oversaw the company’s information technology, telecommunications, accounting, procurement, tax, real estate, benefits administration and payroll organizations.

Before serving as president of NiSource’s Shared Services organization, Smith was senior vice president and deputy chief financial officer of Columbia Energy Group from 1999 to 2000 and senior vice president and chief financial officer of Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation from 1997 to 1999. He oversaw accounting, financial planning, risk management, tax and treasury activities for both organizations.

Smith has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from The Colorado School of Mines. His extensive background and expertise includes SEC reporting, risk management, credit, tax, treasury, acquisitions and merger integration activities.

AEP’s corporate accounting, planning and strategy functions will report directly to Smith, including Joseph M. Buonaiuto, senior vice president and controller, and Richard E. Munczinski, senior vice president - corporate planning, budgeting and strategy. Buonaiuto acts in the capacity of chief accounting officer. Munczinski’s responsibilities were recently expanded to include corporate strategy development in addition to oversight of financial planning, budgeting, regulatory pricing and integrated resource planning.

In a related change, Bruce H. Braine, vice president - strategic policy analysis, who previously oversaw corporate strategy as well as environmental and energy policy, will now report to Dale E. Heydlauff, senior vice president - governmental and environmental affairs. Braine will focus on analysis of federal and state energy and environmental policy as well as analysis and development of long-term environmental and energy strategy for AEP.

Buonaiuto joined AEP in 2001 in his current position. He was previously a partner with the London office of Deloitte & Touche. Buonaiuto has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business in Ann Arbor. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Munczinski joined AEP in 1978. He was named director of rate case management in 1992 and vice president - regulatory services in 1996. He was named to his current position in 1998. Munczinski has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in management science from the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Braine joined AEP in 1997 as senior vice president - analysis for AEP Energy Services, an AEP subsidiary. He was named vice president - strategic policy analysis in 2000. Braine has a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford, where he graduated from Stanford’s Public Management Program.

American Electric Power owns and operates more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and select international markets and is the largest electricity generator in the U.S. AEP is also one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with almost 5 million customers linked to AEP’s 11-state electricity transmission and distribution grid. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.