AEP Accelerates Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reduction Target

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Sep 10, 2019, 10:00 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) is cutting carbon dioxide emissions faster than anticipated and has revised its 2030 reduction target to 70 percent from 2000 levels. The company's previous target was a 60 percent reduction from 2000 levels by 2030.

AEP also is confident that it will cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 80 percent from 2000 levels by 2050.

"AEP's overall strategy is focused on modernizing the power grid, expanding renewable energy resources and delivering reliable energy to our customers. Our transition to a cleaner, more balanced resource mix helps mitigate risk for our customers and shareholders alike and will ensure a more resilient and reliable energy system into the future," said Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer.

"We've made significant progress in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from our power generation fleet and expect our emissions to continue to decline. Our aspirational emissions goal is zero emissions by 2050. Technological advances, including energy storage, will determine how quickly we can achieve zero emissions while continuing to provide reliable, affordable power for customers," Akins said.

AEP will achieve future carbon dioxide emissions reductions through a variety of actions including investments in renewable generation, investments in transmission and distribution technologies to enhance efficiency, and expanded demand response and energy efficiency programs.

AEP's resource plans include adding more than 8,600 megawatts (MW) of new wind and solar generation to serve the company's regulated utility customers by 2030. The company currently is seeking regulatory approval to add 1,485 megawatts of new wind generation to serve customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

AEP also is investing in renewable energy in competitive markets. Between 2019 and 2023, the company plans to invest approximately $2.2 billion in contracted renewables and renewables integrated with energy storage. AEP already added 1,302 megawatts of contracted renewables to its portfolio this year.

To enhance the efficiency and resiliency of the energy delivery system, AEP's long-term strategy includes plans to invest approximately $25 billion over the next 5 years in its transmission and distribution systems.

AEP has factored future carbon regulations into the company's evaluation of generation resource options for many years and will continue to do so. The company already has cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 59 percent since 2000.

AEP's generation capacity has gone from 70 percent coal-fueled in 2005 to 45 percent today. Its natural gas capacity increased from 19 percent in 2005 to 28 percent today, and its renewable generation capacity has increased from 4 percent in 2005 to 17 percent today.

More information about AEP's clean energy strategy is available at https://www.aep.com/investors/ESG.

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 approximately 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 nearly 5,300 megawatts of renewable energy. 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, east Texas and the Texas Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners, and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide. For more information, visit aep.com.

This report made by American Electric Power 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: changes in economic conditions, electric market demand and demographic patterns in AEP service territories; inflationary or deflationary interest rate trends; volatility in the financial markets, particularly developments affecting the availability or cost of capital to finance new capital projects and refinance existing debt; the availability and cost of funds to finance working capital and capital needs, particularly during periods when the time lag between incurring costs and recovery is long and the costs are material; electric load and customer growth; weather conditions, including storms and drought conditions, and AEP's ability to recover significant storm restoration costs; the cost of fuel and its transportation, the creditworthiness and performance of fuel suppliers and transporters and the cost of storing and disposing of used fuel, including coal ash and spent nuclear fuel; availability of necessary generating capacity, the performance of AEP's generating plants and the availability of fuel; AEP's ability to recover fuel and other energy costs through regulated or competitive electric rates; AEP's ability to build or acquire renewable generation, transmission lines and facilities (including the ability to obtain any necessary regulatory approvals and permits) when needed at acceptable prices and terms and to recover those costs; new legislation, litigation and government regulation, including oversight of nuclear generation, energy commodity trading and new or heightened requirements for reduced emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, mercury, carbon, soot or particulate matter and other substances that could impact the continued operation, cost recovery, and/or profitability of AEP's generation plants and related assets; evolving public perception of the risks associated with fuels used before, during and after the generation of electricity, including nuclear fuel; timing and resolution of pending and future rate cases, negotiations and other regulatory decisions, including rate or other recovery of new investments in generation, distribution and transmission service and environmental compliance; resolution of litigation; AEP's ability to constrain operation and maintenance costs; prices and demand for power generated and sold at wholesale; changes in technology, particularly with respect to energy storage and new, developing, alternative or distributed sources of generation; AEP's ability to recover through rates any remaining unrecovered investment in generating units that may be retired before the end of their previously projected useful lives; volatility and changes in markets for capacity and electricity, coal, and other energy-related commodities, particularly changes in the price of natural gas; changes in utility regulation and the allocation of costs within regional transmission organizations, including ERCOT, PJM and SPP; 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 AEP debt; the impact of volatility in the capital markets on the value of the investments held by AEP's pension, OPEB, captive insurance entity and nuclear decommissioning trust and the impact of such volatility on future funding requirements; accounting pronouncements periodically issued by accounting standard-setting bodies; and other risks and unforeseen events, including wars, the effects of terrorism (including increased security costs), embargoes, naturally occurring and human-caused fires, cyber security threats and other catastrophic events.

SOURCE American Electric Power