COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric
Power (NYSE: AEP) has released its 2016 Corporate Accountability
Report, an overview of the company's strategy, governance and
financial performance.
This is AEP's tenth year of reporting on its sustainability
performance and its seventh integrated report combining
sustainability and financial information. The company's reporting
is guided by the Global Reporting Initiative, its "G4" Reporting
Framework and its Electric Utility Sector Supplement. The web-based
report is available at www.AEPSustainability.com.
AEP's 2016 Corporate Accountability Report recognizes the
relationship between the company's financial performance, corporate
culture and environmental responsibilities. It is designed to
update stakeholders on AEP's 2015 activities, 2016 plans, and
strategy and vision for the future.
AEP's 2016 Corporate Accountability Report covers several key
areas: the company's evolving business model; its focus on
enhancing the customer experience; its investment in technology and
infrastructure to make the power grid more flexible, efficient and
reliable; and its support of the communities where AEP
operates.
Among its highlights, the report discusses AEP's 2015 financial
success. AEP increased its operating earnings per share by 7.6
percent in 2015 and rewarded shareholders with a dividend increase
of nearly 6 percent. The report also includes AEP's planned capital
investment of $5 billion every year
for the next three years primarily in its core operations,
including its transmission business. Investment in the transmission
grid will support the nation's changing energy mix and make the
grid more resilient and flexible. A resilient, flexible grid is
critical to support power generation resource diversity including
expanded renewable generation, energy storage and demand-side
technologies.
The report focuses on AEP's efforts to continue diversifying its
generation fleet following the retirement of more than 7,200
megawatts of coal-fueled generation between 2011 and mid-2016. The
company is refueling 752 megawatts with natural gas and plans to
nearly triple its renewable energy portfolio in the next two
decades. In 2015, AEP completed its first solar power plant near
Marion, Indiana, to make solar
energy universally available to customers, and the company is
building four more solar plants in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
AEP also has decreased its carbon dioxide emissions by
approximately 39 percent from 2000 levels and will continue to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its power plants as the
company transitions to more renewables and natural gas.
AEP's Corporate Accountability Report discusses the company's
relationship with its customers and the communities it serves. AEP
and the AEP Foundation contributed approximately $13.5 million in 2015 to support education,
environmental stewardship and community needs. AEP is committed to
its legacy of delivering safe, reliable energy to customers while
also working to effectively anticipate and meet evolving customer
expectations and provide the solutions and technologies they will
want and expect in the future.
The company's achievements in continuous improvement and
workforce planning are highlighted. AEP has continued expanding its
process improvement initiatives to make operations more efficient,
and has made ongoing investments to foster and support a
high-performing and inclusive workplace focused on safety,
efficiency and innovation.
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities
in the United States, delivering
electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million
customers in 11 states. AEP 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 also operates 223,000
miles of distribution lines. AEP ranks among the nation's largest
generators of electricity, owning approximately 31,000 megawatts of
generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also supplies 3,200 megawatts
of renewable energy to customers. 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.
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SOURCE American Electric Power