AEP Names Simmons President and COO of Public Service Company of Oklahoma; Solomon Named Senior Vice President, Generation Services

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Aug 20, 2018, 15:00 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) has named Peggy Simmons president and chief operating officer of its Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) utility company, effective Sept. 8. Simmons replaces Stuart Solomon, who is joining AEP's generation organization as senior vice president – Generation Services.

Simmons will have responsibility for all aspects of electric service for PSO's more than 550,000 customers. These include distribution operations, safety, customer service, communications, external affairs and regulatory functions. She will report to Paul Chodak, executive vice president – AEP Utilities.

"Peggy's operational experience, regulatory knowledge and dynamic leadership style will serve us well as we continue to focus on delivering exceptional service to our customers in Oklahoma and providing the new services, energy resources and technologies that bring value to our customers," Chodak said.

In his new role, Solomon will lead the development of generation strategies for AEP's operating companies and support asset optimization for the company's power plants, among other responsibilities. He will report to Mark McCullough, executive vice president – Generation. In the first quarter of 2019, Solomon will begin a transition process to succeed John McManus as senior vice president – Environmental Services. McManus plans to retire in the summer of 2019.

"Under Stuart's leadership, PSO has increased customer satisfaction significantly as the company has focused on improving reliability and adding new tools and services to help customers better manage their energy costs," Chodak said. "His commitment to operational excellence, safety and customer service will remain critical in his new role in generation."

Simmons, 41, is currently managing director of transmission asset strategy for AEP, responsible for transmission strategy and policy, regulatory support, as well as outreach, siting and rights-of-way for transmission projects. Prior to this role, Simmons was manager of regulatory commodity sourcing for AEP Ohio. She also served as manager of renewable energy in AEP's competitive business. Simmons joined AEP in 1999 as an energy trading scheduler in commercial operations. She earned a bachelor's degree in economics from The Ohio State University and a master's degree in public policy and administration from Central Michigan University. She is a graduate of The Executive Program-Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and is a member of the G100 Next Generation Leadership program.

Solomon, 56, was named president and chief operating officer of PSO in 2004 and was vice president of public policy and regulatory services for AEP from 2000 to 2004. He served as AEP's state president in West Virginia from 1999 to 2000. Solomon joined AEP in 1999 from Central and South West Corp., which merged with AEP in 2000. He joined CSW in 1986 at its Central Power and Light subsidiary in Corpus Christi, Texas. After earning a law degree, he rejoined CSW in 1992 and held several management and administrative positions. Solomon earned a bachelor's degree from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, a master's in business administration from the University of Texas in Austin and a law degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

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 17,000 employees operate and maintain the nation's largest electricity transmission system and more than 224,000 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 33,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including 4,200 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 and east Texas). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide.

SOURCE American Electric Power