GAHANNA, Ohio, Jan. 2, 2020 — AEP Ohio, an American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) company, was named a 2019 Customer Champion in a national study for a second year in a row.

The 2019 Cogent Syndicated Utility Customer Champion honor is awarded to utilities that have higher offering usage, provide value-added offerings and services, and are best positioned for future customer success and industry innovation, according to Escalent, the analytics firm that conducted the study.

"Our priority is our customers. Whether it's an interaction with a call center employee, or a new offering to help save money, we are dedicated to improving our customer relationships," said Katie Grayem, AEP Ohio director of customer experience. "Being recognized on a national level for the second time is a testament to that dedication."

AEP Ohio is one of 40 utilities to be designated a Customer Champion in the 2019 Cogent Syndicated Utility Trusted Brand & Customer EngagementTM: Residential study. There are 140 utilities benchmarked on an Engaged Customer Relationship score, a composite index of Service Satisfaction, Brand Trust and Product Experience performance.

AEP Ohio received an Engaged Customer Relationship index score of 735 on a 1,000-point scale among the Midwest Region Utility Brands.

The study is based on over 67,000 nationwide customer interviews.

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About AEP Ohio

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

American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to our customers. AEP’s more than 18,000 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 219,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 32,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including about 5,200 megawatts of renewable generation. AEP’s family of companies includes utilities 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 Texas). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide.