12.31.2001 ET

(CSRwire) American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) announced today that it has acquired the 160-megawatt Indian Mesa Wind Power Project from Enron Wind Corp. of California.

Under terms of the agreement, AEP will also assume responsibility for fulfillment of previously announced power supply arrangements with City Public Service (CPS), the municipal electric utility for San Antonio, Texas. CPS will buy all the power generated from the wind turbines under long-term agreements. Enron Wind will provide operations and maintenance services at the site, located near Iraan, 45 miles east of Fort Stockton.

Indian Mesa Wind Project

The addition of the Indian Mesa Wind Project to the AEP generation portfolio establishes the company as one of the largest renewable power generators in the nation. The project, added to the recently completed 150-MW Trent Mesa Wind Project, demonstrates AEP’s commitment to strategically increasing its holdings in renewable power resources.

"We are pleased to add the Indian Mesa Wind Project to our growing fleet of renewable power generation resources," said Dwayne L. Hart, senior vice president of business development for AEP subsidiary, AEP Energy Services. "The addition of Indian Mesa furthers our goal of enhancing the renewable portion of our overall generation portfolio. We´re also pleased with the opportunity to establish a relationship with CPS. CPS has been a leader in promoting renewable energy for their consumers in San Antonio."

AEP acquired the Indian Mesa Project for $175 million. The acquisition will be funded internally, but the company intends to seek project financing at a later time. The acquisition will be accretive to earnings.

The project uses 107 Enron Wind 1.5 MW turbines, the largest wind turbine manufactured in the United States, and is capable of providing power to as many as 54,000 residential power users. The project, completed in December 2001, was developed and constructed by Enron Wind, a fully-integrated wind power company which also supplied wind turbines to AEP´s Trent Mesa Project. The company manufactures wind turbines in North America, Germany and Spain.

American Electric Power is a multinational energy company based in Columbus, Ohio. AEP owns and operates more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity, making it America´s largest generator of electricity. The company is also a leading wholesale energy marketer and trader, ranking second in North America in wholesale electricity and wholesale natural gas volume. AEP provides retail electricity to more than 7 million customers worldwide and has holdings in the U.S. and select international markets. Wholly owned subsidiaries are involved in power engineering and construction services.

The comments set forth above include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including (1) statements concerning the Company´s plans, objectives, expected performance and expenditures and (2) other statements that are other than statements of historical fact. These forward-looking statements reflect assumptions, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements are electric load and customer growth, abnormal weather conditions, availability of generating capacity, the ability to recover net regulatory assets and other stranded costs in connection with deregulation of generation, the outcome of environmental regulation and litigation, the impact of fluctuation in commodity prices and interest rates, and other risks and unforeseen events over which the Company has no control. The reader is also directed to the Company´s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for additional factors that may impact the Company´s results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, historical results may not be indicative of the Company´s future performance.

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