FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GAHANNA, Ohio, Sept. 25, 2012 — AEP Ohio, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), is proud to donate 200,000 ENERGY STAR certified Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs to Mid-Ohio Foodbank to help struggling families use less energy and focus their resources on other needs. The initial donation of 50,000 CFLs took place today.

            "Installing CFLs is a quick and easy way for consumers to reduce their energy consumption," said Karen Sloneker, AEP Ohio director of customer services and marketing. "We realize many people are going through tough economic times and we are happy to help by providing energy efficient bulbs to thousands of our customers who are also Mid-Ohio Foodbank clients. The partnership we share with the Foodbank affords us the opportunity to distribute CFL bulbs to families in 13 counties throughout the state."    

            Each family will receive two CFLs as well as literature explaining the bulbs’ benefits, where to use them, how to recycle them and much more.         

            “We are incredibly grateful for our long-standing partnership with AEP Ohio and appreciate their most recent donation of energy efficient bulbs to the thousands of struggling families who are served by the Foodbank’s network,” said Matt Habash, president & CEO, Mid-Ohio Foodbank. “The utility cost savings realized from usage of these bulbs can help our hungry neighbors to put food on the table.”

            The donation is part of AEP Ohio’s SMART Lighting Program which offers customers discounted CFLs through participating retailers in order to help them reduce wasted energy, save money and help protect the environment.  A CFL can be used in almost any fixture and uses about 75 percent less energy than a standard incandescent light bulb, saving families about $50 or more in electricity costs over the course of each bulb’s lifetime.

            Investor-owned utilities in Ohio are required to meet specific energy reduction targets. The SMART Lighting Program is part of AEP Ohio’s overall energy efficiency and peak demand response efforts to meet the State of Ohio target of reducing electricity consumption 22 percent by the end of 2025.  For more information about AEP Ohio’s energy efficiency consumer programs, events and tips, visit AEPOhio.com/Rebates.

            Mid-Ohio Foodbank provides food to hundreds of thousands of our hungry neighbors each year by partnering with 559 emergency feeding sites across 20 counties in central and eastern Ohio. For 32 years, the Foodbank has joined food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, senior centers, and after-school programs to make food accessible to those in our communities who are hungry. During the past 12 months, the Foodbank distributed more than 42 million pounds of food, enabling its partner charities to provide 101,743 meals each day. Mid-Ohio Foodbank is a member of Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief charity.  For more information or to become involved, please connect with us at midohiofoodbank.org.

           AEP Ohio provides electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of major AEP subsidiaries Ohio Power Company in Ohio and Wheeling Power Company in the northern panhandle of West Virginia.  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 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 aep.com.

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