BRIDGMAN, Mich., June 26, 2000 – American Electric Power’s (NYSE: AEP) Cook Nuclear Plant Unit 2 returned to service yesterday. At 4:16 a.m. Sunday, reactor operator Tim Brown closed the breaker and connected the electrical output of the generator to the AEP transmission grid. The reactor was operating at 9 percent power, and will begin a carefully controlled ascension to full power over the next five to seven days.

“It’s a great day for AEP to have this important asset back in service,” said E. Linn Draper Jr., AEP´s chairman, president and chief executive officer.

On June 13, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission concurred that the plant was safe and ready for restart. Restart ends the 33 month shutdown for the unit.

“I want to thank the entire Cook team and their families,” said Bob Powers, senior vice president – nuclear generation. “They have worked hard and sacrificed a great deal to make this day possible.”

Brown, a 10-year AEP employee, was part of a seven-person operations crew led by shift manager Vince Woods. Closing the breaker in the control room remotely operated a 30-foot tall high-voltage air blast breaker in the 765 kilovolt transmission switchyard located one-quarter mile from the plant.

The ascension to full power includes several hold points to perform testing and monitor plant equipment. Since the plant has not been operational in some time, there is the possibility that minor equipment maintenance or modification issues could arise during the early days after returning to service. However, the unit is still expected to be at full power during the peak summer demand.

Cook’s Unit 2 has a generating capacity of 1,090 megawatts, enough power to serve the needs of a city of about 600,000 people. AEP will now enter a planning period to establish a restart schedule for Unit 1.

American Electric Power is a multinational energy company based in Columbus, Ohio. AEP is one of the United States´ largest generators of electricity with more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity. AEP is also one of the nation´s leading wholesale energy marketers and traders. AEP delivers electricity to more than 4.8 million customers in 11 states -- Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The company serves more than 4 million customers outside the U.S. through holdings in Australia, Brazil, China, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Wholly owned subsidiaries are involved in power engineering and construction services, energy management and telecommunications.