COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 26, 2006 – Executives and engineers representing the electric power industry in Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea (formally known as the Republic of Korea) will meet with counterparts from the United States in Columbus Monday to begin a week of information sharing and power generation site visits, part of ongoing efforts to address climate change and encourage clean development through the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP).

The week-long conference, organized and hosted by American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) as a non-governmental member of APP’s Power Generation and Transmission Task Force, will focus on methods to improve efficiency of coal-fired generation as well as methods to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and air pollutants. Up to 100 representatives of APP countries are expected to participate. The U.S. Department of Energy chairs APP’s Power Generation and Transmission Task Force.

The APP is a public-private initiative involving six partner nations – Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United States – and private sector partners from those countries, like American Electric Power as the representative of the U.S. power generation and transmission sector, to meet goals for energy security, air pollution reduction and climate change in ways that promote sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. The APP involves countries that account for about half of the world’s economy and energy use. It focuses on voluntary, practical measures to create new investment opportunities, build local capacity and remove barriers to the introduction of clean, more efficient technologies. The partnership was announced in July 2005 and held its inaugural meeting in Sydney, Australia, in January 2006.

The site visits and related activities hosted by AEP signal a new implementation phase for the Asia-Pacific Partnership and the start of an ongoing series of multifaceted programs designed to implement cleaner, cost-effective energy technologies and practices among the partner nations. The APP is identifying policies and deploying technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote healthier air quality, advance sustained economic growth, and reduce poverty.

“The activities we’ve scheduled during meetings and during visits to power plants will include hands-on participation by the power sector representatives from APP nations,” said Michael G. Morris, AEP’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “India and China, two developing and rapidly industrializing nations, have a growing need for energy and have been adding new coal-fired generating capacity at an incredible pace that far exceeds capacity needs in many other countries. But they also recognize the importance of reducing emissions to protect the environment and improve the quality of life for their citizens.

“While we in the U.S. can share our experiences improving efficiency, reducing emissions from existing plants and planning new clean-coal generation, we haven’t built new coal-fired generation in a number of years,” Morris said. “Others will share their experiences building and operating newer generation. We anticipate that the discussions at this conference can lead to efficiency improvements and emissions reductions by the participants.”

Participants in the conference will be divided into two groups by areas of interest.

The existing generation and efficiency group will participate in two days of meetings in Columbus before traveling for three days of visits to AEP power plants to see measures implemented by AEP to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. The group will return to Columbus for a day of meetings Saturday, Nov. 4, to end to conference.

Participants in the new generation and IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) group will also begin with two and a half days of meetings in Columbus before traveling for visits to a Department of Energy Power Systems Development facility in Alabama operated by The Southern Company and to Tampa Electric Company’s IGCC plant in Florida. The group will return to Columbus for a day of meetings Saturday, Nov. 4, to end the conference.

James L. Connaughton, chairman, White House Council on Environmental Quality, applauds the approach taken by APP nations to address issues of concern. "This results-oriented partnership allows our nations to develop and accelerate deployment of cleaner, more efficient energy technologies to meet national pollution reduction, energy security, and climate change concerns in ways that reduce poverty and promote economic development,” Connaughton said.

Dr. Paula Dobriansky, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, U.S. Department of State, in addressing the importance of the AEP-hosted site visits and related activities, commented, “This gathering of experts marks a major milestone for the APP partners, who have collaborated during the past months to reach consensus on defined steps the Asia-Pacific Partnership will take to promote innovative solutions that achieve our mutual goals on energy security, poverty reduction, clean economic growth, and environmental conservation.”

Jeffrey D. Jarrett, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, lauded the hands-on approach for the power sector meeting. "I believe the next few days of person-to-person involvement with state-of-the-art technology and operations will prove the most practical and most constructive step yet taken by any group of nations to begin coming to terms with the major concerns of our new century - the inseparable concerns of greenhouse gases, affordable and secure energy and economic growth. This gathering of engineers and technical experts is a signal event in world cooperation to resolve some serious concerns. I suspect that, before too much time passes, the people who are attending this event will begin delivering renewed proof of the truth behind the saying: Science informs but engineering changes the world."

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 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 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). American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2006.