ROGERS, Ark., Oct. 5, 2007 – Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) will build a new service center in Rogers, Ark., that will meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standards for new construction.

The project is part of a commitment by SWEPCO’s parent company, American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), and The AEP Foundation to invest an estimated $120 million over the next five years to demonstrate green building technologies and support development of public green spaces and environmental education. The commitments are included in AEP’s participation in the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), which was announced Sept. 28 at the 2007 CGI annual meeting in New York.

The new Rogers facility will be located southeast of the existing service center at 500 Hudson Road. Construction of the $2.2 million facility is expected to begin in November 2007.

To meet LEED-Silver new building standards, the Rogers service center will include features such as a high solar reflective index for the roof, reduced water use features for buildings and landscaping, increased use of daylight through skylights in truck parking and storeroom areas, and designated recycling collection and storage areas. The facility also will meet LEED-Silver standards for site selection, construction waste management practices, use of recycled materials in construction, and use of low-emitting solvents, paints, adhesive and other materials for improved air quality.

SWEPCO service centers are operational facilities for the company’s distribution construction, service, engineering, meter reading and other local personnel.

Through its larger commitment, AEP will invest at least $100 million in the next five years to build new or upgrade existing facilities using the LEED building-rating system. AEP will design all new office and service center facilities to meet LEED standards for new construction and will retrofit existing facilities, wherever feasible, to meet LEED existing-building standards.

AEP´s commitment also includes contributions of approximately $13 million that have been approved by AEP and the AEP Foundation for AEP´s 11-state service area to create public green space and develop hands-on educational activities to promote awareness about energy conservation, environmental stewardship, climate change and other environmental issues. Additionally, AEP will initiate an educational campaign to encourage its more than 5.1 million customers and 20,000 employees to lower energy consumption, reduce solid waste and create fewer emissions. The company also will work with small- to medium-sized suppliers to help them become more competitive and reduce their environmental impact as the first utility participating in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Suppliers Network.

“Our commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative is an important component of our larger focus on sustainability and addressing our impact on the global environment,” said Michael G. Morris, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We’ve already proposed new generation technology that will significantly cut emissions from coal-fueled power plants, and we will soon deploy technology to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions from our current generation fleet. We’re also cutting our future greenhouse gas emissions through actions that include adding 1,000 megawatts of renewables to our generation mix, increasing the efficiency of our current plants and investing in offset programs, including the largest methane capture program in the United States.

“Buildings use a third of the world’s energy, and with more than 400 facilities in our system, we have a unique opportunity to demonstrate the value and cost-effectiveness of green construction and renovation. We also have the ability to share information about making choices to lower consumption and reduce emissions with the more than 5 million businesses and households we serve in 11 states, both directly through our electronic and print interactions and indirectly through the development of educational green spaces,” Morris said.

In addition to the Rogers service center, AEP will complete construction of its first new LEED-designed facility in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, later this year. The company also is upgrading an existing service center in Decater, Ind., to meet LEED-Silver new building standards and plans to upgrade its corporate headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, to meet LEED standards for existing buildings. AEP plans energy audits at its other facilities to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and, beginning in 2008, will set annual goals for reducing its energy consumption.

The Clinton Global Initiative is a non-partisan catalyst for action, bringing together a community of global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI has approximately 1,000 members from all over the world who make tangible commitments to take action to address specific global challenges.

SWEPCO serves more than 464,000 customers in three states, including 112,000 in western Arkansas, 176,000 in Northwest Louisiana, and 176,000 in East and North Texas. SWEPCO’s headquarters are in Shreveport, La. News releases and other information about SWEPCO can be found at www.swepco.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 more than 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 and North Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. News releases and other information about AEP can be found at www.aep.com.