COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric
Power (NYSE: AEP) has released its 2015 Corporate Accountability
Report, titled "Powering the Future," which includes discussion of
the company's strategy, governance and financial performance.
This is AEP's ninth year of reporting on its sustainability
performance and its sixth integrated report combining
sustainability and financial information. The company's reporting
is guided by the Global Reporting Initiative, its new "G4"
Reporting Framework and its Electric Utility Sector Supplement. The
web-based report, available at www.AEPSustainability.com, is
complemented by an iPad and iPhone app that provides an interactive
overview of the integrated report.
"Our 2015 Corporate Accountability Report acknowledges the
connection between our financial performance, our environmental
responsibilities and our company culture, and it shows that we
consider the social impact of all our efforts," said Nicholas K. Akins, AEP's chairman, president and
chief executive officer. "Updating stakeholders on our 2014
activities, our 2015 plans, and our vision and strategy also
demonstrates AEP's commitment to transparency."
AEP's 2015 Corporate Accountability Report is focused on several
key areas: business performance, technology and innovation,
customers and communities, and AEP's workforce. Among its
highlights, the report discusses AEP's 2014 financial successes.
AEP was one of the top five best-performing utility stocks for
2014, and shareholders received a total return of 35 percent,
exceeding the total returns for both the S&P 500 Electric
Utilities Index and the S&P 500.
The report discusses AEP's capital investment strategy,
including the company's focus on lower-emissions generating
capacity including natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency.
The company is retiring more than 6,500 megawatts (MW) of
coal-fueled generation in 2015 and 2016 and is refueling
coal-fueled generating units in Kentucky and Virginia with natural gas. AEP also is
building nearly 16 MW of utility-scale solar generation in
Indiana and Michigan.
AEP is investing heavily in the transmission grid to support the
nation's changing energy mix and make the grid more efficient,
resilient and flexible. A resilient, flexible grid is critical to
support generation resource diversity including expanded renewable
generation, energy storage and demand-side technologies. AEP plans
to invest approximately $4.8 billion
in its regulated transmission businesses over the next three years.
This investment includes an innovative, patented transmission line
design called BOLD™ (Breakthrough Overhead Line
Design). BOLD™ transmission design increases the
efficiency and power transport of a transmission line while also
enhancing its visual appearance and reducing its physical
footprint. AEP's first BOLD™ project is rebuilding and
expanding an existing 138-kilovolt line near Fort Wayne, Ind.
AEP's Corporate Accountability Report discusses the company's
relationship with its customers and the communities it serves. AEP
invested more than $25 million in
2014 to support education, community needs, environmental
stewardship and economic growth.
The company's achievements in safety, continuous improvement and
workforce planning also are highlighted. Most notably, in 2014, AEP
employees completed a third consecutive year with no fatalities.
AEP also has made significant investments to enhance its culture
and support development of a high-performance, inclusive work
environment focused on innovation, safety and efficiency.
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities
in the United States, delivering
electricity to more than 5.3 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 more
than 40,000-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 Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150127/171784LOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aep-releases-2015-corporate-accountability-report-300082639.html
SOURCE American Electric Power