AEP is America's largest generator of electricity, with an enviable fleet of power
plants. However, its asset base also includes coal mines, barges, rail cars,
transportation terminals, and more. Taken together, these assets provide operational
flexibility and valuable market intelligence.
AEP owns and operates about
80 generating stations in the United States, with a capacity of nearly 38,000 megawatts.
While the size of the fleet is significant, it's the efficiency - and the resulting
reliability and operational economies - that has earned AEP its reputation as a
pioneering, innovative, dependable, low-cost producer of power.
AEP believes strongly in the merits of fuel diversity in generating electricity, and its own generating fleet reflects that belief. Today, coal-fired plants account for 66 percent of AEP's generating capacity, while natural gas/oil represents 22 percent and nuclear 6 percent. The remaining 6 percent comes from wind, hydro, pumped storage and other sources. AEP's recent investments in wind facilities have made it one of the nation's leaders in that renewable resource.
In 2001, AEP acquired MEMCO Barge Line, Inc., thereby greatly enhancing AEP’s coal transportation resources. AEP's transportation infrastructure now includes approximately 7,500 rail cars, 2,850 barges and 75 towboats.
AEP-owned barges carry coal up and down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and along the Gulf Coast. However, these barges are not only moving coal for AEP; they're also transporting coal and other commodities for outside customers along the way. In fact, AEP is now the second-largest inland barge company in the U.S., transporting more than 64 million tons of freight on the inland waterways system in 2007.
AEP has interests in two terminal facilities. The Cook Coal Terminal, located on the Ohio River, has a 20 million tons per year (tpy) transfer capability, including rail-to-barge transfer. The International Marine Terminal, located in New Orleans, has a 12 million tpy transfer capability, and an 8 million tpy mid-stream capability. (AEP has a 33 percent ownership stake in the International Marine Terminal.)
AEP's maintenance/fleeting operations include a railcar maintenance facility in Metropolis, Ill., a full-service shipyard in Harvey, La., and five barge repair and cleaning facilities in the lower Mississippi River.
