GAHANNA, Ohio, Aug. 7, 2014 – AEP Ohio, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), and AEP Transmission will do extensive work Aug. 12 on the electric distribution and transmission systems in the Oak Hill area of Jackson County.

           This work will improve electric service reliability for the Oak Hill area by addressing several equipment issues that have caused past power outages and will help minimize similar outages in the future.

           AEP Ohio crews will replace numerous distribution poles and miscellaneous line equipment around Oak Hill. AEP Transmission crews will do similar work simultaneously on the 69-kV transmission line.

           Transmission crews will need a power outage for a portion of its work on the transmission line that provides power to the substation that serves Oak Hill homes and businesses.

           The outage will be from approximately 1 to 5 p.m. and will allow crews to complete their work safely.

           The outage will affect approximately 2,800 homes and businesses across Oak Hill, including downtown and local traffic lights. In the event of rain, the work will be done Aug. 13.

           “We are taking advantage of this transmission outage to do a variety of needed work to our lines and equipment that serve our Oak Hill customers,” said Terry Dresbach, manager distribution system for AEP Ohio’s Chillicothe District of which Oak Hill is a part. “This will allow us to safely and efficiently complete distribution system maintenance and repairs we otherwise would need to do over several weeks with multiple outages.”

           AEP Ohio will dedicate approximately 42 company line and support employees and 15 contract pole and construction workers to this project. AEP Ohio workers are from AEP Ohio’s Wellston, which serves Oak Hill, Chillicothe, Ironton and Portsmouth service areas.

           AEP Transmission will have approximately 10 employees doing the transmission line work.

           The work also will affect traffic lights and traffic flow along State Route 93 and other streets in work areas. AEP Ohio asks area residents to drive with caution as they travel around the area while this work is in progress.

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           AEP Ohio provides electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of major AEP subsidiaries Ohio Power Company in Ohio.  AEP Ohio is based in Gahanna, Ohio, and is a unit of American Electric Power. News and information about AEP Ohio can be found at AEPOhio.com.

           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 more than 40,000-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 and north Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. News releases and other information about AEP can be found at AEP.com.