COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 7, 2002 - Floyd Nickerson, the chief public policy voice for American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) in Ohio, has resigned as AEP’s Ohio state president to return with his family to his native Texas, Thomas M. Hagan, senior vice president of governmental affairs, announced today.

Oney Temple, director of community services for the AEP system, will replace Nickerson effective May 13.

Nickerson, who was named Ohio state president in June 2000 following approval of AEP’s merger with Central and South West Corp. (CSW), described the move home as his decision. “I started as a management trainee in human resources for CSW’s West Texas Utilities in Abilene in 1979,” Nickerson said. “CSW and AEP have been my life, so I don’t leave Ohio and the company lightly. But the desire to return with my family to our roots was too strong. I look forward to pursuing a new career.”

The position of state president at AEP focuses on public policy matters. The state president is responsible for building and maintaining external relationships with regulators, legislators, consumers and other stakeholders who have an impact on the company’s operations.

“Ohio and Texas are AEP’s principal states in terms of assets, customers and regulatory-legislative affairs as each state has restructured its electric utility industry,” said Susan Tomasky, AEP executive vice president - policy, finance and strategic planning. “As such, Floyd has been a key member of our team. That he was very effective in Ohio is evidenced by his appointment by Gov. Taft to the Ohio Board of Regents and his chairmanship of the Ohio Electric Utility Institute. We will miss him and wish him well.”

Temple brings a strong background of public and private sector experience to the Ohio president’s position. Prior to joining AEP in 1996, he was deputy director of the Ohio Department of Development and headed the state’s nationally recognized business development programs. Prior to that position he was a member of the adjunct faculty of the University of Akron. He has held various management and marketing positions with IBM, Xerox and McDonald’s Corp.

In addition, Temple has served on a number of boards and commissions, including the State and Local Government Commission of Ohio (1997-2001) and as a non-lawyer member of the Legal Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee of the Ohio State Bar Association (2000-2001). He is a member of the board of trustees of Central State University and served as a trustee of the Ohio Historical Society from 1991 to 1997.

Temple holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Webster College in Missouri and is a participant of the 2002 Emerging Leaders Institute of the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.

“We’re fortunate to have someone with Oney’s experience step into the Ohio president’s position,” Hagan said. “His experience building relationships and working with public policy issues will serve AEP and the groups with which it interacts well.”

American Electric Power is a multinational energy company with a balanced portfolio of energy assets. AEP, the United States’ largest electricity generator, owns and operates more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. and select international markets. AEP is a leading wholesale energy marketer, ranking among North America’s top providers of wholesale power and natural gas with a growing wholesale presence in European markets. In addition to electricity generation, AEP owns and operates natural gas pipeline systems, natural gas storage, coal mines, and the fourth-largest inland barge company in the U.S. AEP is also one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with almost 5 million customers linked to AEP’s wires. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.