COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 18, 1998 -- Susan Tomasky has been named general counsel and senior vice president - legal for American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), according to E. Linn Draper Jr., AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer. Tomasky, 45, will join AEP July 13, filling a position that has been vacant since the retirement of A. Joseph Dowd in 1994. In her new position, Tomasky will lead a staff of 29 AEP attorneys and be responsible for the company's legal opinions, strategies and compliance. She will report to Draper. Tomasky is a partner with the Washington, D.C., office of Hogan & Hartson, where she is a member of the firm's Energy Group. Her practice focuses on regulatory issues and strategic planning for companies doing business in domestic and international electricity and natural gas markets. She has particular expertise in federal requirements affecting asset acquisitions and realignments and new project development in the natural gas and electricity industries. "We're delighted Susan will join us," Draper said. "AEP is increasingly active in the constantly changing domestic and international energy marketplace. Susan's vast experience in U.S. and international energy issues will be beneficial as we continue to develop and pursue our corporate strategies." Tomasky, a Morgantown, W.Va., native, served as General Counsel of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from May 1993 to August 1997. In that capacity, she was a primary legal and policy advisor to the commission in the development of a broad range of policy initiatives to promote competition in U.S. electricity and natural gas markets. She was centrally involved in FERC's groundbreaking open access transmission rulemaking (Order No. 888), and in the development of standards used by the commission to evaluate mergers and assets dispositions involving electric utilities. Tomasky has testified before Congress, other federal agencies and state utility commissions on a wide range of federal regulatory issues, including electric utility restructuring, nuclear decommissioning, hydroelectric licensing and the Public Utility Holding Company Act. From 1981 to 1993, Tomasky was in private practice, specializing in energy and environmental matters. She was a staff attorney at FERC from 1979 to 1981. Tomasky holds a juris doctor degree with honors earned in 1979 from George Washington University National Law Center where she was a member of the Law Review. She is also a 1974 graduate of the University of Kentucky. AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States' largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 3 million customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, energy consulting and energy management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio. On Dec. 22, 1997, AEP announced a definitive merger agreement for a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction with Central and South West Corp., a public utility holding company based in Dallas.