COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 12, 1998 -- American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) and some of its industrial customers will travel to Mexico in January for Ecologia ´98, an international trade show featuring equipment and services to help control the country´s severe pollution.

Customers who want to attend Ecologia ´98 can receive financial support and other assistance through AEP´s Going Global export assistance program, said Christine Sorg, AEP´s international development manager.

The trade show is being held Jan. 27-29 at the U.S. Trade Center in Mexico City and is designed to help U.S. companies tap into the rising demand for innovative ways to deal with Mexico´s pollution problem, Sorg said.

"Ecologia is an excellent opportunity for companies to begin or increase environmental exports to Mexico. Now is a good time to become active in Mexico as the market is open and successfully recovering from the 1995 peso devaluation. We are looking forward to a successful event," Sorg said.

During the last four years, AEP has helped more than 90 industrial customers enter new markets in Mexico, Canada, Chile and the United Kingdom. Assistance to customers attending Ecologia ´98 will include:

Two trade leads in advance of the show, five outside appointments with prospective agents.

Five outside appointments with prospective agents, distributors or joint venture partners during the show.

An opportunity to attend specialized workshops on various aspects of doing business in Mexico, including the national oil, railroad and power companies.

AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States´ largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 2.9 million customers in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom and China. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, consulting and management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.
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