SHREVEPORT, La., November 5, 2008 – AEP Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), received its air permit today for the John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). The air permit regulates the plant’s main steam generating unit, consisting of one coal boiler, and other emission sources at the plant. The boiler powers a single steam turbine with an output of 600 megawatts. The Turk Power Plant, to be built in Hempstead County, Ark., will utilize low-sulfur coal and state-of-the art emission control technologies, including a design that allows for the retrofit of carbon dioxide controls. The emission control technology being installed will enable the Turk Plant to meet emission limits that are among the most stringent ever permitted for a pulverized coal unit.
 
“We are extremely pleased to receive the ADEQ air permit for the Turk Plant, which will be one of the cleanest coal plants ever built,” said Michael G. Morris, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer. “The Turk facility represents the most affordable choice to meet the future energy needs of SWEPCO’s customers and it’s good for the local economy.” Plant construction, expected to take about 48 months, will begin immediately, and will create about 1,400 jobs at the height of the project, now slated for completion in late 2012. The construction will generate about $38 million in sales and property tax revenues, and upon completion, will bring 110 permanent jobs with an annual payroll of around $9 million to the southwest corner of Arkansas near Hope.
 
“We thank the many community leaders, elected officials, business organizations, labor union representatives and customers who have supported SWEPCO in this important process through two air permit public hearings,” said Paul Chodak, SWEPCO president and chief operating officer. “Your voices were heard by the ADEQ, and they made a good decision that will bring reliable, affordable electricity in the years ahead to the customers and communities we serve.”
 
The Arkansas Public Service Commission, the Louisiana Public Service Commission and the Public Utility Commission of Texas have approved SWEPCO’s request to build the Turk Plant. Since early 2008, workers have been performing site development work and receiving equipment and materials at the plant’s location between Fulton and McNab, Ark. With the approval of the air permit, SWEPCO has authorized its contractor to begin construction of the power generating facilities.
 
The plant will burn sub-bituminous low-sulfur coal and convert the energy using ultra-supercritical technology, which operates at higher temperatures, to improve efficiency and thus reduce emissions. While ultra-supercritical plants are in service in Europe and Asia, Turk will be one of the first plants with these advanced steam temperatures to go into commercial operation in the U.S. The baseload coal-fueled Turk Plant is part of SWEPCO’s plans, previously announced in 2006, to construct facilities to meet the short-term peaking, intermediate and long-term energy needs of its customers. The company has completed the 340-megawatt Harry D. Mattison natural gas-fueled peaking plant at Tontitown in Northwest Arkansas. SWEPCO also is building the 500-megawatt, combined-cycle natural gas-fueled J. Lamar Stall Unit for intermediate load needs at its existing Arsenal Hill Power Plant in Shreveport.
 
“Coal is essential to meeting the growing energy needs of our region and our country, and we will put new technology to work at Turk that will generate electricity more efficiently with less environmental impact,” said Chodak.

SWEPCO serves more than 473,500 customers in three states, including 113,500 in western Arkansas, 180,000 in Northwest Louisiana, and 180,000 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 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 and north Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. News releases and other information about AEP can be found at www.aep.com.

This report made by AEP and its Registrant Subsidiaries contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although AEP and each of 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, 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 AEP’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; 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 for new investments, transmission service and environmental compliance); resolution of litigation (including pending Clean Air Act enforcement actions and 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; 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 and other energy-related commodities; changes in utility regulation, including the potential for new legislation in Ohio and membership in and integration into regional transmission organizations; accounting pronouncements periodically issued by accounting standard-setting bodies; the performance of AEP’s pension and other postretirement benefit plans; 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.