Ohioans can save money on new appliance purchases

GAHANNA, Ohio April 23, 2012— AEP Ohio, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), is introducing several rebates for qualified appliances in an effort to increase consumer awareness and encourage the purchase of energy efficient products.

“Major appliances in a home, such as refrigerators and clothes washers, can account for a large portion of a consumer’s monthly electric bill,” said Jon Williams, AEP Ohio manager of energy efficiency and peak demand response. “Today’s appliances are designed to meet new federal efficiency standards and use less electricity than older models. For example, most of today’s energy-efficient refrigerators use less than half the energy of a model that is 12 years old.”

AEP Ohio is offering rebates for the following appliances and water heater equipment:

• ENERGY STAR® qualified clothes washers — $50
• ENERGY STAR® qualified freezers — $50
• ENERGY STAR® qualified dehumidifiers — $25
• ENERGY STAR® qualified refrigerators — $50
• Qualified high efficiency electric water heaters — $50
• Qualified electric heat pump water heaters — $300

“AEP Ohio believes in energy efficiency and supports our customers in their efforts to cut unnecessary electricity usage to not only save money but to also protect the environment,” said Williams. “This is why we’re offering this program for a second year.”

Rebates are available for qualifying appliances purchased between April 1 and Aug. 31, 2012. Rebate forms are available at participating retailers and at AEPOhio.com. Program eligibility requires an individual to be a current AEP Ohio residential service customer residing in Ohio. For questions regarding AEP Ohio’s Appliance Rebate Program, visit AEPOhio.com.

As part of the company’s Appliance Recycling Program, AEP Ohio customers can also earn a $50 rebate when they schedule their old working refrigerator or freezer to be recycled. AEP Ohio will even pick up the appliance for FREE and haul it away. Any customer who schedules their fridge or freezer for recycling can also have their old room air-conditioner hauled away at the same time for FREE as well. For this service, visit AEPOhio.com.

The AEP Ohio Appliance Rebate and Appliance Recycling Programs are part of the company’s initiative to help customers use less energy, decrease energy costs, conserve natural resources and protect the environment. For additional information about AEP Ohio’s energy-efficiency programs, visit AEPOhio.com.

AEP Ohio provides electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of major AEP subsidiaries Columbus Southern Power Company and Ohio Power Company in Ohio, and Wheeling Power Company in the northern panhandle of West Virginia. 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 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.

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