COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 27, 2014 – American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) has been named to Fortune magazine’s 2014 World’s Most Admired Companies list in the electric and gas utilities sector. This was AEP’s first year participating in the survey, which measures nine attributes related to financial performance and corporate reputation.

“AEP’s inclusion on the World’s Most Admired Companies list reflects our commitment to improving the customer experience and creating value for our shareholders as we transform our company to meet the energy needs of the future,” said Nicholas K. Akins, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We are proud of our history of innovation and are making strategic investments in our people and our infrastructure to ensure we can continue providing customers with safe, reliable and affordable power for decades to come.”

Each year, Fortune surveys top executives, directors and financial analysts about the companies in their industry based upon the nine criteria: financial soundness, people management, quality of management, long-term investment, quality of products/services, innovation, use of corporate assets, social responsibility and global competitiveness. A total of 692 companies from 30 countries were surveyed to arrive at this year’s list.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5.3 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 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 Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.