GAHANNA, Ohio, Sept. 9, 2014 – AEP Ohio, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), and AEP Ohio Transmission Company are taking steps to improve electric service in Jefferson County. The plan includes construction of a new 138-kilovolt (kV) transmission substation in Wells Township.

To learn more about the project, the public is invited to attend a project open house from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Wells Township Community Center, 107 Steuben Street, Brilliant, Ohio, 43913. Visitors may come and go at any time during the workshop. Jefferson County and Wells Township residents can offer input, ask questions and learn more about the new transmission substation.

The company plans to construct the new estimated 1.6-acre Gable Substation about 10 miles southwest of Steubenville, Ohio. Gable Substation will allow AEP Ohio to increase the reliability of the electric transmission grid. The new substation will reduce the likelihood of outages and speed restoration by dividing the existing transmission lines into smaller sections. AEP can also better direct the flow of electric power with the installation of the Gable Substation.

“This investment in Jefferson County ensures a reliable delivery of electricity to our customers today, and into the future,” said Selwyn Dias, vice president distribution operations for AEP Ohio. “We are pleased to make this type of investment that is essential for homes, businesses and attracting new investments into the communities we serve.”

The company plans to invest approximately $2 million in the Gable Substation. Construction is targeted to begin in the spring 2015 and be complete by the end of 2015.

Additional information about the project, including maps, is available online at AEPTransmission.com/Ohio/Gable/. The public also can ask questions, make comments or express concerns about the project by leaving a detailed message and their contact information on the AEP Ohio Transmission Project Information Line at 877-215-9261. A project representative will return the call.

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           AEP Ohio provides electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of major AEP Subsidiary Ohio Power Company in Ohio.  AEP Ohio is based in Gahanna, Ohio, and is a unit of American Electric Power. News and information about AEP Ohio can be found at AEPOhio.com.

           American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 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 and north Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. News releases and other information about AEP can be found at AEP.com.