GAHANNA, Ohio, July 8, 2014 – AEP Ohio, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), and the AEP Ohio Transmission Company are announcing the proposal of a third transmission line route for its previously announced Biers Run-Hopetown-Delano 138-kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line Project in Ross County.

After considering comments from the public and proactive meetings with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, AEP Ohio is supplementing its application to the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) to propose a line route through the Pleasant Valley Wildlife Area. AEP Ohio filed its original application for this project with the siting board in January 2014.

AEP Ohio is hosting an informational workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. July 22 at Pioneer School of Developmental Disabilities, 11268 County Road 550, Chillicothe, Ohio, 45601. The company hosted an informational open house to share its original proposal with local residents in May 2013.

This workshop will allow Ross County and Union and Green township residents to offer input, ask questions and learn more about the new route proposal, as well as the entire Biers Run Project. Visitors may come and go at any time during the workshop.

The new Biers Run-Hopetown-Delano transmission line will extend from the new Biers Run Substation to the existing Delano Substation. The Biers Run-Hopetown-Delano line will be approximately 12 miles long, depending on the route selected and will be located entirely in Ross County. The line primarily will run through Union Township with a short section in Green Township.

The Biers Run-Hopetown-Delano Project is part of the overall Biers Run Project, which is a major transmission reinforcement effort to help AEP Ohio maintain transmission reliability in south central Ohio. Upgrades are needed in the Chillicothe and Circleville areas to address power plant retirements and issues identified by PJM Interconnection (PJM), an independent regional transmission planning organization.

The Biers Run-Hopetown-Delano line investment will be approximately $17 million. This line will provide more than $500,000 in property tax annually for the community, as well as capacity for economic growth and enhanced reliability in the area.

Additional information about the project, including maps, is available online at AEPTransmission.com/Ohio/BiersRun-Hopetown-Delano/.

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           AEP Ohio provides electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of major AEP Subsidiary Ohio Power Company in Ohio.  AEP Ohio is based in Gahanna, Ohio, and is a unit of American Electric Power. News and information about AEP Ohio can be found at AEPOhio.com.

           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 40,000-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 and north Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. News releases and other information about AEP can be found at AEP.com.

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