12.11.2007 - 12:09pm ET

(CSRwire) COLUMBUS, OH, December 11, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) is one of 10 international electric utilities, and the only U.S.-based utility, participating in a project of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) that is designed to promote the achievement of a sustainable electricity future. The WBCSD Electricity Utilities Sector Project released its interim report "Powering a Sustainable Future: Policies and Measures to Make it Happen" today at the United Nations Climate Change conference in Bali.

Michael G. Morris, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer, signed the report along with executives representing ABB Limited, EDF Group, CLP Holdings, Eskom Holdings, Kansai Electric Power Co., Suez, Gaz de France, Statkraft and Toyko Electric Power Co.

"As the leading U.S. utility in taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it makes sense for AEP to represent the U.S. electricity sector in this international effort to support sustainability for electricity producers," said Michael G. Morris, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer. "The power sector currently is responsible for 41 percent of worldwide global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, and projections are that electricity demand will double by 2030. It is critical that we put in place policies worldwide that support development and deployment of new technologies and measures that make electricity consumption more efficient and electricity supply less carbon intensive."

The interim report of the WBCSD Electricity Utilities Sector Project focuses on how utilities worldwide can harness the full potential of low-carbon options for power generation and consumption. The report identifies technologies that are already mature for commercial implementation and discusses those that will require additional support for deployment. The report also identifies policies and measures that will be necessary to achieve the full decarbonization of the electricity sector, including support for reinforcing the world's transmission and distribution grids and expanding the use of more energy-efficient building practices and appliances. The report is available at www.wbcsd.com.

As part of the WBCSD Electricity Utilities Sector Project, participating companies committed to taking action to reduce their carbon footprints through: accelerating investment in low-carbon technology development and deployment; continued work to reduce the carbon intensity of their electricity generation and improve the efficiency of their operations; collaborating with government and other stakeholders to drive research and development; and engaging with customers to improve end-use efficiency.

AEP has led the U.S. electricity utility sector in taking action to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and support technology deployment. In 2003, AEP was the first and largest U.S. utility to join the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the world's first and North America's only voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas emissions reduction and trading program. As a member of CCX, AEP committed to gradually reduce, avoid or sequester its greenhouse gas emissions to 6 percent below the average of its 1998 to 2001 emission levels by 2010. Through this commitment, AEP will reduce or offset approximately 46 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade.

In 2004, AEP was the first electric utility to announce plans to scale up Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology to build baseload, coal-fueled power plants with less environmental impact.

Earlier this year, AEP announced an expanded strategy to capture, reduce, avoid or offset 5 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year after 2010, including plans to add 1,000 megawatts of nameplate-rated wind capacity and to install carbon capture retrofit technology on two existing coal-fired power plants, the first commercial use of technologies to significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing plants. Technologies being advanced by AEP's plan include both post-combustion and pre-combustion solutions to CO2 emissions from coal-fired generation. The company also is continuing existing - and exploring new - initiatives for both demand-side and supply-side efficiency.

About The World Business Council for Sustainable Development

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) brings together some 200 international companies in a shared commitment to sustainable development through economic growth, ecological balance and social progress. Members are drawn from more than 30 countries and 20 major industrial sectors. AEP was invited to become a member of WBCSD in June 2007.

About American Electric Power

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation's largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-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.

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