FORT WAYNE, Ind., Oct. 7, 2005 – Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), an operating company of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), has entered into a 20-year agreement with the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) to provide 150 megawatts (MW) of wholesale power to the agency to serve its member municipalities of Anderson, Columbia City, Frankton and Richmond, Ind. The agreement, upon approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), will take effect Jan. 1, 2006.

"We are pleased to have signed IMPA to this long-term agreement, which shows AEP´s commitment to our traditional wholesale customers and provides IMPA with needed resources," said Brian Tierney, AEP´s senior vice president, Commercial Operations. "A key part of our focus is to enter into long-term contracts with wholesale customers who are interested in a long-term relationship, such as IMPA, while continuing to offer shorter-term power supply solutions as well."

"This agreement reaffirms the decades-long relationship that I&M has had with IMPA," said Marsha P. Ryan, president and chief operating officer for I&M.

IMPA President Raj Rao said the agreement "allows IMPA to continue to provide reliable power, which benefits the residents and employers in our Indiana communities. We are excited about putting our trust in I&M and AEP for a part of our long-term resource needs."

AEP is one of the nation´s largest wholesale suppliers of generation to municipal utilities and cooperatives. AEP currently provides approximately 3,218 MW of power to 54 municipal utilities and 25 electric cooperatives in the United States.

IMPA is the not-for-profit wholesale power provider to 40 cities and towns across Indiana, serving approximately 170,000 households, businesses and industries throughout the state. Utilizing a portfolio approach, the agency supplies a low-cost, reliable and environmentally responsible power supply to members through a combination of generation, long-term contracts and short-term power purchases.

IMPA and its members own 811 MW of generation and are currently participating in the development of an additional 300 MW of coal-fired generation in Trimble County Station Unit #2 and Prairie State Generation projects. During 2005, the agency reached a peak demand of 1,126 MW. Additional information about IMPA may be found on the World Wide Web at www.impa.com.

Indiana Michigan Power is headquartered in Fort Wayne, and its 2,650 employees serve more than 576,000 customers in northern and central Indiana and southwest Michigan. It operates 3,595 MW of coal-fired generation in Indiana, 2,110 MW of nuclear generation in Michigan and 22 MW of hydro generation in both states.

I&M is part of American Electric Power (AEP), based in Columbus, Ohio. AEP 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.

News releases and other information about I&M can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.IndianaMichiganPower.com.

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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.