COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Electric
Power (NYSE: AEP) operating unit AEP Ohio today issued a request for
proposals (RFP) seeking long-term purchases of up to 300 megawatts (MW) of
renewable energy resources.
According to the RFP, proposals must rely on commercially proven
technologies for renewable energy, including wind, hydro, solar
photovoltaic or solar thermal, geothermal, biologically derived methane gas
and certain biomass energy projects. The generation must be interconnected
to the PJM Interconnection and operational no later than Dec. 31, 2010.
A pre-bid conference call for potential bidders will be conducted June
12 with proposals to be submitted by July 15. RFP information can be found
at http://www.AEPOhio.com/go/rfp .
The renewable RFP is part of AEP's goal -- announced in 2007 -- to add
1,000 MW of new wind or renewable energy by 2011 as a component of the
company's comprehensive strategy to address its greenhouse gas emissions.
The addition of renewable energy to AEP's energy portfolio avoids an
incremental increase in greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise occur
if AEP used traditional fossil generation to meet growing customer demand.
"This RFP continues our commitment to adding renewables to our
generation portfolio and will help ensure that we have renewable energy
resources in place consistent with Ohio's new advanced energy policies,"
said Michael G. Morris, AEP chairman, president and chief executive
officer. "One of the issues we will continue to grapple with as a nation is
the desire to develop renewable energy resources and the realization that
it will be more costly than traditional electricity generation methods. The
new Ohio bill recognizes this with mechanisms to address the impact on the
Ohio economy if cost-effective renewable generation does not develop to
serve Ohio customers.
"Expansion of renewable power also will require significant
transmission infrastructure investment to move it from where it can be
produced to population centers. On a national level, we need policies that
encourage development of extra-high voltage transmission to transport
renewable energy and a long-term commitment to production tax credits to
make renewable energy less costly," Morris said.
AEP has issued RFPs in the last two months seeking 665 MW of renewable
energy. In addition to the AEP Ohio RFP, AEP is seeking 200 MW of renewable
energy to serve its Public Service Company of Oklahoma customers, 65 MW of
renewable energy to serve its Southwestern Electric Power Company customers
and 100 MW of renewable energy to serve its Appalachian Power customers.
The company has completed three purchases of long-term renewable energy
capacity since making its 1,000-MW commitment in 2007. The three purchases,
all of wind energy, added 275 MW of renewable capacity to serve AEP's
customers in Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee.
AEP's wind portfolio -- prior to the recent RFPs -- is 1,052 MW, which
includes 310 MW of wind generation owned by AEP in Texas, 476.5 MW of
long-term wind purchase agreements reached before the company's 2007
commitment and 275 MW of wind purchase agreements made last year.
AEP Ohio provides electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of major
AEP subsidiaries Columbus Southern Power Company and Ohio Power Company in
Ohio, and Wheeling Power Company in the northern panhandle of West
Virginia.
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the
United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in
11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity,
owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also
owns the nation's largest electricity transmission system, a nearly
39,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage
transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP's
transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the
electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected
transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and
eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in
ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP's utility
units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and
West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan
Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern
Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's
headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.
This report made by American Electric Power and its Registrant
Subsidiaries contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although the
registrants 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, including storms; available
sources and costs of, and transportation for, fuels and the
creditworthiness and performance of fuel suppliers and transporters;
availability of generating capacity and the performance of AEP's generating
plants; AEP's ability to recover regulatory assets and stranded costs in
connection with deregulation; AEP's ability to recover increases in fuel
and other energy costs through regulated or competitive electric rates;
AEP's ability to build or acquire generating capacity (including the
company's ability to obtain any necessary regulatory approvals and permits)
when needed at acceptable prices and terms and to recover those costs
through applicable rate cases or competitive rates; new legislation,
litigation and government regulation including requirements for reduced
emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, mercury, carbon, soot or particulate matter
and other substances; timing and resolution of pending and future rate
cases, negotiations and other regulatory decisions (including rate or other
recovery of new investments in generation, distribution and transmission
service and environmental compliance); resolution of litigation (including
disputes arising from the bankruptcy of Enron Corp. and related matters);
AEP's ability to constrain operation and maintenance costs; the economic
climate and growth in AEP's service territory and changes in market demand
and demographic patterns; inflationary and interest rate trends; volatility
in the financial markets, particularly developments affecting the
availability of capital on reasonable terms and developments impairing
AEP's ability to refinance existing debt at attractive rates; AEP's ability
to develop and execute a strategy based on a view regarding prices of
electricity, natural gas and other energy-related commodities; changes in
the creditworthiness of the counterparties with whom AEP has contractual
arrangements, including participants in the energy trading market; actions
of rating agencies, including changes in the ratings of debt; volatility
and changes in markets for electricity, natural gas, coal, nuclear fuel and
other energy-related commodities; changes in utility regulation, including
the potential for new legislation in Ohio and the allocation of costs
within regional transmission organizations; accounting pronouncements
periodically issued by accounting standard-setting bodies; the impact of
volatility in the capital markets on the value of the investments held by
AEP's pension, other postretirement benefit plans and nuclear
decommissioning trust; prices for power that AEP generates and sells at
wholesale; changes in technology, particularly with respect to new,
developing or alternative sources of generation; other risks and unforeseen
events, including wars, the effects of terrorism (including increased
security costs), embargoes and other catastrophic events.
SOURCE American Electric Power
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Related links:
http://www.aep.com
http://www.AEPOhio.com/go/rfp
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/042050.html /
CONTACT:
Melissa McHenry, Manager, Corporate Media
Relations, American Electric Power, +1-614-716-1120
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