COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 5, 2021
/PRNewswire/ -- American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) plans to
invest in its regulated businesses and renewable generation as it
continues to transform and build a cleaner, more modern energy
system. The company announced its 2022 operating earnings (earnings
excluding special items) guidance range of $4.85 to $5.05 per
share, reflecting its projected annual operating earnings growth
rate of 5% to 7%. AEP has met or exceeded its earnings per share
guidance every year for more than a decade. AEP management will
discuss the company's strategy and financial growth plans during
the annual Edison Electric Institute Financial Conference,
Nov. 7-9.
Operating earnings could differ from those prepared in
accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for
matters such as impairments, divestitures or changes in accounting
principles. AEP is unable to forecast if any of these items will
occur or any amounts that may be recorded for future periods.
Therefore, AEP is not able to provide a corresponding GAAP
equivalent for earnings guidance.
The company plans to invest $38
billion in capital from 2022 through 2026 with an emphasis
on transmission, distribution and renewable energy. AEP will
allocate $23.3 billion to
transmission and distribution operations to construct a more
efficient grid and deliver custom energy solutions to customers.
During the same period, AEP plans to invest $8.2 billion in regulated renewable generation
and $1.7 billion in competitive,
contracted renewable projects.
"AEP continues to focus on capital investments that support our
efforts to provide clean, reliable energy to the communities we
serve, while managing customer affordability and delivering solid
shareholder value," said Nicholas K.
Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer.
"Our extensive pipeline of needed grid investments and regulated
renewable opportunities will allow us to strategically shift
capital as necessary to deliver on our 5% to 7% growth rate.
"We're transitioning to a more balanced generation portfolio and
plan to invest 26% of our capital over the next five years in
renewable energy within and outside AEP's service territory, as we
grow renewables to approximately half of our capacity by 2030. Two
of the North Central Wind projects, Sundance and Maverick, began
operation this year and are delivering clean energy to Southwestern
Electric Power Company and Public Service Company of Oklahoma customers in Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. We expect the final project,
Traverse, to begin operation in early 2022. The three projects will
add 1,485 megawatts of renewable energy to our portfolio once
completed.
"AEP is committed to transforming the energy grid to better
integrate renewable resources and deliver the low-cost, reliable
energy that customers expect. Our investment plan allocates 61% of
capital to wires, which enables us to revitalize our transmission
and distribution systems and implement technologies to enhance our
customers' energy experience.
"We recently announced the sale of our Kentucky operations, including Kentucky Power
and AEP Kentucky Transco, for $2.846
billion. This sale will help support the growth of the
company as we invest in a clean energy future.
"AEP's strategic business decisions allow us to continue
providing increased returns to shareholders. This year, we
increased the quarterly dividend by 4
cents to 78 cents a share and
delivered our 446th consecutive quarterly cash dividend," Akins
said.
American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is powering a cleaner,
brighter energy future for its customers and communities. AEP's
approximately 16,700 employees operate and maintain the nation's
largest electricity transmission system and more than 224,000 miles
of distribution lines to safely deliver reliable and affordable
power to 5.5 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is
one of the nation's largest electricity producers with
approximately 31,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity,
including more than 5,900 megawatts of renewable energy. The
company's plans include growing its renewable generation portfolio
to approximately 50% of total capacity by 2030. AEP is on track to
achieve an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 2000
levels by 2030 and has committed to achieve net zero by 2050. AEP
is recognized consistently for its focus on sustainability,
community engagement, and diversity, equity and inclusion. AEP's
family of companies includes utilities 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, east Texas and the Texas
Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, which provides
innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide. For more
information, visit aep.com.
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This report made by American Electric Power and its Registrant
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:
changes in economic conditions, electric market demand and
demographic patterns in AEP service territories; inflationary or
deflationary interest rate trends; volatility in the financial
markets, particularly developments affecting the availability or
cost of capital to finance new capital projects and refinance
existing debt; the availability and cost of funds to finance
working capital and capital needs, particularly during periods when
the time lag between incurring costs and recovery is long and the
costs are material; decreased demand for electricity; weather
conditions, including storms and drought conditions, and AEP's
ability to recover significant storm restoration costs; the cost of
fuel and its transportation, the creditworthiness and performance
of fuel suppliers and transporters and the cost of storing and
disposing of used fuel, including coal ash and spent nuclear fuel;
the availability of fuel and necessary generating capacity and the
performance of AEP's generating plants; AEP's ability to recover
fuel and other energy costs through regulated or competitive
electric rates; AEP's ability to build or acquire renewable
generation, transmission lines and facilities (including the
ability to obtain any necessary regulatory approvals and permits)
when needed at acceptable prices and terms and to recover those
costs; new legislation, litigation and government regulation,
including oversight of nuclear generation, energy commodity trading
and new or heightened requirements for reduced emissions of sulfur,
nitrogen, mercury, carbon, soot or particulate matter and other
substances that could impact the continued operation, cost
recovery, and/or profitability of AEP's generation plants and
related assets; evolving public perception of the risks associated
with fuels used before, during and after the generation of
electricity, including nuclear fuel; timing and resolution of
pending and future rate cases, negotiations and other regulatory
decisions, including rate or other recovery of new investments in
generation, distribution and transmission service and environmental
compliance; resolution of litigation; AEP's ability to constrain
operation and maintenance costs; prices and demand for power
generated and sold at wholesale; changes in technology,
particularly with respect to energy storage and new, developing,
alternative or distributed sources of generation; AEP's ability to
recover through rates any remaining unrecovered investment in
generation units that may be retired before the end of their
previously projected useful lives; volatility and changes in
markets for coal, and other energy-related commodities,
particularly changes in the price of natural gas; changes in
utility regulation and the allocation of costs within regional
transmission organizations, including ERCOT, PJM and SPP; changes
in the creditworthiness of the counterparties with whom AEP has
contractual arrangements, including participants in the energy
trading market; actions of rating agencies, including changes in
the ratings of AEP debt; the impact of volatility in the capital
markets on the value of the investments held by AEP's pension,
OPEB, captive insurance entity and nuclear decommissioning trust
and the impact of such volatility on future funding requirements;
accounting pronouncements periodically issued by accounting
standard-setting bodies; and other risks and unforeseen events,
including wars, the effects of terrorism (including increased
security costs), embargoes, naturally occurring and human-caused
fires, cyber security threats and other catastrophic events.
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SOURCE American Electric Power