AEP structure, operations to see no effect from initial decision on 2000 SEC merger approval; Company plans to file petition for review

COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 3, 2005 – An initial decision issued today by an administrative law judge of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will not effect the current structure or operations of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), the company said.

The initial decision says that the 2000 merger between AEP and Central and South West Corp. meets the interconnection requirement of the Public Utilities Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA), one of the primary tests for utility mergers, but the merger "does not constitute a ´single integrated public-utility system´ for failure to be confined in its operations to a single area or region under (PUHCA)."

"This decision disappoints us, but it does not alter AEP´s current structure or operations," said Michael G. Morris, AEP´s chairman, president and chief executive officer. "We have been operating as a single integrated company for almost five years now, so this appears to be an instance where legal theory doesn´t conform to reality.

"This merger went through 30 months of intense review by a number of federal agencies before receiving ultimate approval by the SEC," Morris said. "We will review the initial decision and file a petition for review."

The merger between AEP and CSW was announced in December 1997 and, after it received approval from the SEC in June 2000, was challenged by public power organizations. The SEC decision was vacated and remanded in 2002 after an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In response to that remand, the SEC ordered the hearing before the administrative law judge.

American Electric Power owns more than 36,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and is the nation´s largest electricity generator. AEP is also one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with more than 5 million customers linked to AEP’s 11-state electricity transmission and distribution grid. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.

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These reports made by AEP and its registrant subsidiaries contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although AEP and its registrant subsidiaries believe that their expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any such statements may be influenced by factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different from those projected. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are: electric load and customer growth; weather conditions; available sources and costs of fuels; availability of generating capacity and the performance of AEP’s generating plants; the ability to recover regulatory assets and stranded costs in connection with deregulation; new legislation and government regulation including requirements for reduced emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, carbon and other substances; resolution of pending and future rate cases, negotiations and other regulatory decisions (including rate or other recovery for environmental compliance); oversight and/or investigation of the energy sector or its participants; resolution of litigation (including pending Clean Air Act enforcement actions and disputes arising from the bankruptcy of Enron Corp.); AEP’s ability to reduce its operation and maintenance costs; the success of disposing of investments that no longer match AEP’s corporate profile; AEP’s ability to sell assets at attractive prices and on other attractive terms; international and country-specific developments affecting foreign investments including the disposition of any current foreign investments; the economic climate and growth in AEP’s service territory and changes in market demand and demographic patterns; inflationary trends; AEP’s ability to develop and execute on a point of view regarding prices of electricity, natural gas, and other energy-related commodities; changes in the creditworthiness and number of participants in the energy trading market; changes in the financial markets, particularly those affecting the availability of capital and AEP’s ability to refinance existing debt at attractive rates; actions of rating agencies, including changes in the ratings of debt and preferred stock; volatility and changes in markets for electricity, natural gas, and other energy-related commodities; changes in utility regulation, including the establishment of a regional transmission structure; accounting pronouncements periodically issued by accounting standard-setting bodies; the performance of AEP’s pension plan; prices for power that AEP generates and sells at wholesale; and changes in technology and other risks and unforeseen events, including wars, the effects of terrorism (including increased security costs), embargoes and other catastrophic events.