BRIDGMAN, Mich., Nov. 30, 1998 -- Officials from American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) met with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) today to discuss the status of repair and improvement activities at the Cook Nuclear Plant. The 90-minute meeting was held at NRC headquarters near Washington, D.C. Plant officials shut down both units at the site in September 1997 because of questions raised during an NRC design inspection. The NRC has formed a restart panel for the plant and has held six public restart meetings with AEP. E. Linn Draper Jr., AEP chairman, president, and chief executive officer, told the NRC that AEP is committed to restarting both units. Senior AEP Nuclear Generation managers made presentations on: -- current assessments of the plant and nuclear organization; -- challenges in resolving engineering issues; -- AEP's vision for the future of the plant; -- overview of the restart plan, strategies, and schedule; and -- technical issues relating to the ice condenser system. "We appreciate the opportunity to discuss the issues with the commission," said Draper. "Although this has been a difficult period for AEP and the Cook Plant, I believe we are headed in the right direction. I hope that with this meeting, the commission will share the confidence I have in our team's ability to affect the necessary repairs and restart the units." Robert Powers, senior vice president - nuclear generation who joined AEP in August, gave his assessment of the plant. Powers said the plant has a core of capable and dedicated managers and employees, a comprehensive restart plan, and good overall materiel condition. He also discussed the challenges facing the engineering organization, and said that a team of industry experts is performing an in-depth analysis of engineering practices. New vice president - nuclear engineering, Michael Rencheck, is overseeing the team. A report is due in mid-December. John Sampson, site vice president, gave an overview of the restart plan and how it coincides with the NRC checklist of restart inspection items. Sampson also discussed restart strategies, corrective action program improvements, and the restart schedule. The current schedule calls for Unit 1 to return to service by the end of the first quarter of 1999, followed by Unit 2 about 90 days later. Sampson also detailed the major improvements to the plant's ice condenser system. AEP has completed the inspection and repair of the Unit 1 baskets, and will soon begin cooling the system and reloading the 2.5 millions pounds of ice. AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States' largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 3 million customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, energy consulting and energy management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio. On Dec. 22, 1997, AEP announced a definitive merger agreement for a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction with Central and South West Corp., a public utility holding company based in Dallas.