COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric
Power (NYSE: AEP) today received the 2017 Edison Award, the Edison
Electric Institute's (EEI) premier award recognizing "distinguished
leadership, innovation and contribution to the advancement of the
electric industry for the benefit of all." AEP is the first U.S.
company to receive the Edison Award in consecutive years and has
earned this honor three of the last five years. AEP has won more
Edison Awards than any other company, a total of seven since the
1950s.
"AEP has embraced the challenges of a changing energy landscape,
developing innovative solutions and new approaches to better meet
the energy needs and expectations of our customers," said
Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman,
president and chief executive officer. "We have 18,000 employees
who are at the core of our efforts to become the energy company of
the future. Being recognized by our peers with the Edison Award two
years in a row is a testament to the expertise, commitment and
agility of our team."
AEP was honored this year for its work developing the
Breakthrough Overhead Line Design (BOLD), a groundbreaking
transmission structure and line design that can increase capacity
and efficiency in existing rights-of-way. The BOLD structures are
nearly 50 feet shorter and more compact than conventional
345-kilovolt transmission tower designs and can deliver up to 60
percent more power in the same right-of-way. The first in-service
BOLD project is located near Fort Wayne,
Indiana. Another project will be energized in Indiana this summer, and additional projects
are planned across AEP's system.
In 2016, AEP's project to upgrade the transmission system
supplying the Rio Grande Valley in Texas was recognized by EEI. AEP replaced 240
miles of transmission lines and upgraded five substations while the
system remained energized.
AEP received the Edison Award in 2013 for its construction of
the John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant. The plant was the first in the
nation to use advanced ultra-supercritical technology, which
generates power using less fuel and reduces emissions.
EEI annually selects Edison Award winners from nominations
submitted by its members. A panel of former utility industry
executives selects the recipients.
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities
in the United States, delivering
electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million
customers in 11 states. AEP owns the nation's largest electricity
transmission system, a more than 40,000-mile network that includes
more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all
other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP also operates 224,000
miles of distribution lines. AEP ranks among the nation's largest
generators of electricity, owning approximately 26,000 megawatts of
generating capacity in the U.S. AEP supplies 3,200 megawatts of
renewable energy to customers. 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 Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.
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SOURCE American Electric Power