COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 29, 2009 – American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) has been selected as a winner of the 2009 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility.

The national awards program recognizes organizations that successfully use workplace flexibility to meet both employer and employee goals. As a winner, AEP ranks in the top 20 percent of employers nationally in terms of flexible work programs, policies and culture. The rankings were determined by comparing information on the company’s programs and policies to nationally representative data from the Families and Work Institute´s National Study of Employers, then corroborating the company information through a survey of employees.

“The way we do work has changed dramatically over the past decade, thanks to the Internet, mobile phones, laptops and other new technologies," said Mary Cofer, director of diversity and culture for AEP. "Many individuals can now work remotely and are no longer confined to an eight-to-five schedule, especially in an industry like ours requiring 24/7 customer service. So flexible work arrangements just make good business sense.

“Giving our employees flexibility in the workplace also helps them better balance their work responsibilities and their personal lives, which further increases their effectiveness on the job,” Cofer said.

AEP was presented with the award at a breakfast in Columbus today hosted by Action for Children’s Circle of Business, a membership alliance of central Ohio businesses working to improve the integration of work and personal lives.

The Sloan Awards for Business Excellence are part of the “When Work Works” project, which is an ongoing initiative of: Families and Work Institute, a nonprofit research organization that studies the changing work force, family and community; the Institute for a Competitive Workforce, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and the Twiga Foundation, which is dedicated to inspiring, promoting and maintaining a family consciousness at home, in the workplace and in the community. Through “When Work Works,” these organizations provide research, resources and recognition to employers nationwide in regard to effective, flexible workplaces that meet 21st-century needs.

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 nearly 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.