COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 27, 1998 -- Raymond M. Maliszewski, senior vice president - system planning for American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), has announced he will retire July 1. In his position, Maliszewski is responsible for short- and long-term planning of the AEP system, which traverses seven states. In that capacity, he has responsibility for forecasting the electric demand and energy requirements of AEP; formulating the plans for the installation of new power supply facilities to meet AEP's demands; and analyzing the performance of the AEP system in the context of its interconnected neighbors to assure that the system will be operated in a reliable manner. "Ray is one of those people who help shape the backbone of an organization," said William J. Lhota, AEP executive vice president. "He intimately knows the details of our transmission system and the planning our company has done to prepare for the future. His knowledge, insights and contacts throughout our industry have been invaluable. "Ray has led the work on our independent system operator initiatives, and we expect to name his replacement in that area soon." Maliszewski joined AEP in 1956 as an assistant engineer. After several managerial promotions, he was elected assistant vice president - bulk transmission planning in 1978, and vice president - system planning in 1987. He was elected to his current position in June 1991. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He is also a member of the International Conference on Large High-Voltage Electric Systems (CIGRE), and serves as the representative of the United States on the CIGRE Study Committee, devoted to system planning and development. He also served on various task forces and working groups of the Edison Electric Institute, and as an industry adviser to the National Governors Association, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Office of Technology Assessment in various electric industry studies. Maliszewski is past chairman of the East Central Area Reliability (ECAR) Coordination Review Committee, and represented ECAR on the Engineering Committee of the North American Reliability Council (NERC). He served as the chair of the NERC engineering committee from 1995 to 1997, and has been an active participant in regional as well as interregional reliability activities in ECAR and NERC. 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.