Shreveport, La., Nov. 3, 2005 - American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) and its operating company Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) have signed a twenty-five year wholesale power supply agreement with the Hope Water and Light Commission of Hope, Ark. According to the terms of the contract, SWEPCO will continue to supply power to meet Hope’s electrical load when the current contract between them expires at the end of 2007.

"Beyond supplying reliable, affordable electricity to our own customers, providing wholesale service to municipals and cooperatives is a key component of AEP´s utility business," said Brian Tierney, AEP senior vice president of commercial operations. "We´re extremely pleased to partner with municipals like Hope who put trust in AEP to make prudent resource decisions over the long term."

"We are pleased that the partnership already established with Hope will continue for years to come," said Nick Akins, SWEPCO president and chief operating officer. "Our goal is to help build strong communities within the areas we serve by providing reliable, low-cost electricity to support local business and commerce. This agreement continues in that tradition."

AEP is one of the nation´s largest wholesale suppliers of generation to municipal utilities and cooperatives. AEP currently serves approximately 3,218 megawatts of load to 54 municipalities and 25 electric co-ops in the United States.

The City of Hope is located in the southwestern part of Arkansas. Hope owns and maintains a distribution and transmission system that provides electrical service to more than 5,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers with a peak load in excess of 65 megawatts.

"SWEPCO has been a cost-effective supplier in the past and we look forward to the benefits of this new power supply agreement in today´s world of volatile energy prices," said Jim Kirchhoff, P.E., General Manager for the Hope Water and Light Commission. "This contract is by far the best solution for the City of Hope and we have confidence in SWEPCO´s ability to plan for our future needs in a reliable manner."

American Electric Power owns more than 36,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and is the nation´s largest electricity generator. AEP is also one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with more than 5 million customers linked to AEP´s 11-state electricity transmission and distribution grid. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.

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This report made by AEP and certain of its subsidiaries contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although AEP and each of its registrant subsidiaries believe that their expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any such statements may be influenced by factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different from those projected. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are: electric load and customer growth; weather conditions, including storms; available sources and costs of, and transportation for, fuels and the creditworthiness of fuel suppliers and transporters; availability of generating capacity and the performance of AEP’s generating plants; the ability to recover regulatory assets and stranded costs in connection with deregulation; the ability to recover increases in fuel and other energy costs through regulated or competitive electric rates; new legislation, litigation and government regulation including requirements for reduced emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, mercury, carbon and other substances; timing and resolution of pending and future rate cases, negotiations and other regulatory decisions (including rate or other recovery for new investments, transmission service and environmental compliance);resolution of litigation (including pending Clean Air Act enforcement actions and disputes arising from the bankruptcy of Enron Corp.); AEP´s ability to constrain its operation and maintenance costs; AEP´s ability to sell assets at acceptable prices and on other acceptable terms, including rights to share in earnings derived from the assets subsequent to their sale; the economic climate and growth in AEP´s service territory and changes in market demand and demographic patterns; inflationary trends; AEP´s ability to develop and execute a strategy based on a view regarding prices of electricity, natural gas, and other energy-related commodities; changes in the creditworthiness and number of participants in the energy trading market; changes in the financial markets, particularly those affecting the availability of capital and AEP´s ability to refinance existing debt at attractive rates; actions of rating agencies, including changes in the ratings of debt; volatility and changes in markets for electricity, natural gas, and other energy-related commodities; changes in utility regulation, including membership in regional transmission structures; accounting pronouncements periodically issued by accounting standard-setting bodies; the performance of AEP´s pension and other postretirement benefit plans; prices for power that AEP generates and sells at wholesale; changes in technology and other risks and unforeseen events, including wars, the effects of terrorism (including increased security costs), embargoes and other catastrophic events.