ROANOKE, Va., Nov. 13, 2003 - American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) announced today that PAR Electrical Contractors Inc., a Quanta Services company (NYSE: PWR), has been chosen to construct the transmission towers and string conductor for the 90-mile Wyoming-Jacksons Ferry 765,000-volt (765-kV) transmission project.

“We are happy to have PAR as a team member in constructing the Wyoming-Jacksons Ferry project,” said Richard Verret, AEP senior vice president - transmission. “The company’s competitive pricing, specialized construction skills and demonstrated reputation for being environmentally responsible will be critical to the success of a project of this magnitude.”

The Wyoming-Jacksons Ferry line will stretch from an AEP station at Oceana, W.Va., to the Jacksons Ferry Station east of Wytheville, Va., and will help reinforce the transmission system serving southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia. Energy demands in this region have increased more than 135 percent since the last electric transmission line was built to serve the area in 1973.

AEP pioneered 765-kV transmission when it built the first lines at this voltage in the late 1960s, and it has continued to improve design of the lines. To help mitigate noise emitted from the Wyoming-Jacksons Ferry line, AEP will put in service the first six-bundled conductor transmission line in the country.

To reduce potential construction disturbances and the number of necessary construction roads, PAR will use heavy-lift helicopters to erect tower components on the majority of the project.

PAR crews will begin to have a presence in the project area in late November with the first foundation installation scheduled for April 2004. The projected completion date for the project is mid-2006. PAR will use its own crews as well as local labor to staff the 200-person work force required to complete the project. PAR project headquarters will be in Bluefield, W.Va.

Current activities associated with the project include:

• AEP is identifying and acquiring the final 200-foot right of way.

• The company is working with the Electric Power Research Institute in Haslet, Texas, to design and test a new 765-kV tower series for the line.

• The U.S. Forest Service issued the special-use permit to cross 11 miles of federal land with the project this month.

Read more about the Wyoming-Jacksons Ferry project.

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.