AEP Completes Y2K Communications Drill

April 9, 1999•News Release

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 9, 1999 -- American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) successfully completed a drill today to test whether employees could gather and relay accurate data if Y2K computer problems impacted portions of AEP’s main telecommunications system. The drill was organized by the North American Electric Reliability Council as part of its continuing effort to ensure electric utilities are able to handle the upcoming century change and continue to provide reliable service to customers. About 200 major utilities in the United States and Canada participated in the drill. System operators simulated how they would react during a partial loss of AEP’s primary telephone, microwave and fiber optic communications systems. Workers at several power plants, substations and dispatching centers turned to backup voice communications systems to maintain contact with each other and other utilities interconnected with AEP on the transmission power grid. AEP’s 35 drill participants made about 80 calls to internal drill locations and several interconnected utilities. Backup telecommunications equipment tested during the drill included an 800 MHz radio system, cellular phones and leased line telephones not connected to the primary telephone system. AEP has requested information from its vendors about the readiness status of these telecommunications systems. “The drill gave us a better sense of our strengths and weaknesses in terms of our communications contingency plans,” said Michael H. Knapp, AEP’s manager - transmission security, system operation. “While we found no major problems with our backup systems, the exercise helped us to identify areas that worked well, in addition to pinpointing areas that could be improved.” Maintaining an effective communications system is a major concern among electric utilities. A loss of communications could cripple a utility’s ability to gather the data necessary to determine how much electricity is flowing on the power grid. An effective communications system also allows a utility to determine how much electricity a unit is producing at any given time and whether any abnormal operations are present within the system. AEP and other utilities will participate in another NERC-sponsored drill on Sept. 8-9. This drill will evaluate the utilities’ administrative, operating, communications and contingency response plans for the transition into the year 2000. AEP began its Y2K project in 1996 and has spent more than $21 million to make its computer systems Y2K ready. The company predicts it could cost as much as $68 million to fix its computer systems. More than 200 employees and contractors throughout AEP’s seven-state region are working to have mission-critical and high priority systems Y2K ready by a June 30 deadline recommended by NERC. Y2K refers to a computer system’s inability to distinguish between the years 1900 and 2000. 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.

For More Information, Contact: Jeri Waters Media Relations Specialist 614/223-1917

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