COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Dennis E. Welch has been promoted to executive
vice president and chief administrative officer of American
Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), effective Oct.
1.
Welch, 60, has served as executive vice president – Environment,
Safety & Health and Facilities since December 2007. He joined AEP in 2005 as senior
vice president – Environment and Safety. In his new role, Welch
will add Shared Services – which includes Information Technology,
Human Resources and Business Logistics – to his current
responsibilities. Welch will report to AEP President Nicholas K. Akins.
"Dennis is a proven leader with a unique ability to build
relationships that have helped AEP achieve success in many areas,
including our environmental and sustainability efforts," Akins
said. "His commitment to improving the company's safety and health
performance, ensuring regulatory compliance and advocating for
better public policy has been a great asset. I look forward to his
continued contributions to AEP in his new role."
From 2001 to 2005, Welch served as president and chief operating
officer of Yankee Energy System, an operating subsidiary of
Northeast Utilities (NU). A 20-year veteran of NU, Welch previously
served as vice president of Environmental, Safety & Ethics,
director of Environmental Health and Safety and manager of
Occupational Safety at NU. Prior to joining NU, Welch held various
positions at Stone & Webster Engineering.
Welch earned a bachelor's degree in environmental, health and
safety management from Indiana State
University at Terre Haute and a master's degree in business
and human resource management from the Hartford Graduate Center of
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He
completed the Environmental Leadership Program at Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental
Studies.
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 nearly
39,000-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 Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.
SOURCE American Electric Power