COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 2, 2001 - American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) has signed a lease for 92,000 square feet of office space under development in the Arena District in downtown Columbus.

The office space, in two adjoining buildings under construction about two blocks north of AEP’s corporate headquarters, has been leased from Nationwide Realty Investors and will house portions of AEP’s rapidly growing wholesale organization.

“Wholesale is the growth area of our company, both in terms of revenue and people,” said E. Linn Draper Jr., AEP’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We no longer have sufficient space in our headquarters to support the rapid growth of trading, marketing and other elements of our wholesale group.”

AEP is one of the largest wholesale energy providers in North America, ranking second in wholesale electricity volume and rapidly approaching the top in wholesale natural gas volume.

“This decision to expand into the Arena District shows our commitment to our strategy, which calls for continued growth in our wholesale business,” Draper said. “It also shows our commitment to downtown Columbus. The proximity to our headquarters was a selling point, as was the atmosphere of this new entertainment and business complex surrounding Nationwide Arena.”

AEP will lease space in two adjoining buildings at 125 and 155 West Nationwide Boulevard - the top two floors of a four-story building and the top three floors of the adjoining five-story building. Plans are for the buildings to be ready for occupancy in March. AEP has signed a seven-year lease, renewable for two five-year terms.

“The new space meets our needs today and provides room for future growth,” said Eric van der Walde, executive vice president - marketing and trading for AEP Energy Services Inc. “Our AEP Energy Services group, the part of our wholesale organization that includes trading, marketing and support staff, fills all or parts of four floors in AEP’s 1 Riverside Plaza headquarters building. We are split up, which can hinder communications that are vital in a trading and marketing organization.

“We were looking for space to accommodate a large trading floor, something with a large footprint and continuous open space,” van der Walde said. “The larger floor area in the new location will be an improvement.”

The Arena District offices will house wholesale operations that are in the unregulated portion of AEP after the company completes its corporate separation, van der Walde said.

Other departments within AEP will utilize office space at the corporate headquarters that is vacated during the move.

American Electric Power is a multinational energy company based in Columbus, Ohio. AEP owns and operates more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity, making it America’s largest generator of electricity. The company is also a leading wholesale energy marketer and trader, ranking second in the U.S. in electricity volume with a growing presence in natural gas. AEP provides retail electricity to more than 7 million customers worldwide and has holdings in the U.S. and select international markets. Wholly owned subsidiaries are involved in power engineering and construction services, energy management and telecommunications.