Focus is on investigation into cause of fire after missing contractor´s body located

MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va., March 7, 2006 – The focus turns to the investigation into the cause of a construction-site fire at American Electric Power’s (NYSE:AEP) Kammer-Mitchell Power Plant after the body of a missing Pullman Power LLC employee was located Monday evening.

The Pullman Power LLC employee, Gerald Talbert, 27, had been missing after a Saturday night fire in a stack under construction at the Kammer-Mitchell Power Plant near Moundsville, W.Va. The body was found in a “man cage” suspended inside the 1,000-foot stack.

Pullman Power, with headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., is building the new stack, part of additional environmental control systems under construction at the plant.

“Our sincere sympathy and condolences go out to Gerald Talbert’s family and to his friends and co-workers with Pullman Power,” said Mike Rencheck, Senior Vice President – Engineering Projects and Field Service for AEP. “This has been a very trying time for everyone involved. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”

The fire started at approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday as Pullman employees were working inside the stack. A number of Pullman employees escaped through the bottom of the stack. Three located on top of the stack were rescued by helicopter at approximately 10:45 p.m. One other, Talbert, was missing.

Entry into the stack to search for the missing Pullman employee was delayed by burning debris that remained in the bottom of the stack. Water was injected into the stack Sunday and Monday to cool the debris prior to inspecting the stack by personnel in a helicopter and on crane-mounted man baskets. Talbert’s body was located at approximately 7:30 p.m. Monday and removed from the stack at approximately 9:10 p.m.

The cause of the fire has not been determined. The stack was still under construction and was not in use by the plant.

“Pullman Power and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating this construction accident,” Rencheck said. “We are prepared to assist in any way we can.”

It is too early to assess what impact this incident will have on the completion of the project currently underway at the plant. Current activities at the site include containing debris positioned on top of the stack as a step toward safely resuming site construction activities.

“Safety is our top priority,” Rencheck said.

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 is the nation’s largest generator of electricity, owning more than 36,000 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 utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2006.