- AEP Board Member and Former Chairman and CEO of Xcel Energy,
Benjamin G.S. Fowke III, Appointed
Interim CEO & President
- AEP Lead Director Sara Martinez Tucker Named Chair of the
Board
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric Power (Nasdaq:
AEP) today announced that Benjamin G.S.
Fowke III, a member of the company's Board of Directors and
the former chairman and CEO of Xcel Energy, Inc., has been
appointed interim chief executive officer and president, effective
immediately.
Fowke succeeds Julie A. Sloat.
The Board determined, based on discussions with Sloat, that it is
time to identify a new CEO to lead the company's next chapter. This
decision was not a result of any disagreement with Sloat regarding
AEP's operations, policies or financial performance, and was not
made for cause or related to any ethical or compliance concern.
In a separate release today, AEP is disclosing its
fourth-quarter and year-end 2023 financial results and reaffirming
its 2024 operating earnings guidance range of $5.53 to $5.73.
In addition, the Board has appointed its lead director,
Sara Martinez Tucker, as chair. The
Board also has engaged a leading executive search firm to conduct
an external search for a permanent CEO.
"After thorough deliberation and discussions with Julie, the
Board determined now is the right time to make this leadership
transition to best position AEP for the future," Tucker said. "The
company has made great progress managing our portfolio and
supporting the needs of customers and communities. With this solid
foundation, we continue to be well-positioned to execute our
capital plan and enhance grid reliability and resiliency for
customers while advancing our ongoing generation fleet
transformation. We thank Julie for her many contributions to AEP
over the course of her 23-year tenure at the company and wish her
the best moving forward."
Tucker continued, "The Board would like to thank Ben for
stepping in as interim CEO. Having previously served as chairman
and CEO of Xcel Energy for over a decade, Ben has deep knowledge of
all aspects of our industry, including operations, finance,
regulatory policy and sustainability. Additionally, Ben has been a
director on our Board since 2022 and is chair of our Finance
Committee. As a director with deep utility experience, Ben has been
instrumental in helping shape AEP's strategy and is well-positioned
to lead our talented team to create value for shareholders,
customers and other stakeholders while the Board conducts a search
for a permanent successor."
Fowke said, "Through my career in the industry, I have gotten to
know AEP well, and since joining the Board, I have gained an even
deeper appreciation of AEP's operations and the depth of talent
across the organization. The Board and I have carefully overseen
the execution of recent portfolio actions to simplify and de-risk
the business, and I look forward to working with the management
team over the coming months to build on AEP's positive momentum.
Together, we will continue enhancing our regulatory relationships
and unlocking shareholder value by driving the company's strategic
priorities forward and delivering safe, reliable and affordable
energy to our customers."
Year-end 2023 Earnings Webcast
As previously
announced, AEP will hold its quarterly earnings call
at 9 a.m. ET Tuesday, Feb. 27. The call
will be broadcast live over the internet at
http://www.aep.com/webcasts.
About Benjamin G.S. Fowke
III
Fowke has been a member of AEP's
Board since February 2022, and
was chairman and CEO of Xcel for more than a decade
until his retirement as CEO in August
2021. He remained executive chairman of the Xcel
Board until December
2021. Fowke held a variety of leadership roles
at Xcel including chief operating officer and chief
financial officer. Fowke has a bachelor's degree in
finance and accounting from Towson University and
obtained his CPA in 1982. He is on the Board of Securian
Financial and Energy Insurance Mutual and former chair of the
Board of Edison Electric Institute.
About AEP
At American Electric Power, based in
Columbus, Ohio, we understand that
our customers and communities depend on safe, reliable and
affordable power. Our nearly 17,000 employees operate and maintain
more than 40,000 miles of transmission lines, the nation's largest
electric transmission system, and more than 225,000 miles of
distribution lines to deliver power to 5.6 million customers in 11
states. AEP also is one of the nation's largest
electricity producers with nearly 29,000 megawatts of diverse
generating capacity, including approximately 6,100 megawatts of
renewable energy. AEP is investing $43 billion over the next five years to make the
electric grid cleaner and more reliable. We are on track to reach
an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 levels by
2030 and have a goal to achieve net zero by 2045. AEP
is recognized consistently for its focus on sustainability,
community engagement 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.
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; the economic
impact of increased global trade tensions including the conflicts
in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the adoption or expansion of
economic sanctions or trade restrictions; inflationary or
deflationary interest rate trends; volatility and disruptions in
the financial markets precipitated by any cause, including failure
to make progress on federal budget or debt ceiling matters,
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 if expected sources of capital such
as proceeds from the sale of assets, subsidiaries and tax credits,
and anticipated securitizations, do not materialize or do not
materialize at the level anticipated, and 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; limitations or
restrictions on the amounts and types of insurance available to
cover losses that might arise in connection with natural disasters
or operations; 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
generation capacity and the performance of generation plants; AEP's
ability to recover fuel and other energy costs through regulated or
competitive electric rates; the ability to transition from fossil
generation and the 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, including favorable tax
treatment, and to recover those costs; the impact of pandemics and
any associated disruption of AEP's business operations due to
impacts on economic or market conditions, costs of compliance with
potential government regulations, electricity usage, supply chain
issues, customers, service providers, vendors and suppliers; new
legislation, litigation and government regulation, including
changes to tax laws and regulations, 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 generation plants and related assets; the impact of federal tax
legislation on results of operations, financial condition, cash
flows or credit ratings; the risks associated with fuels used
before, during and after the generation of electricity and the
byproducts and wastes of such fuels, including coal ash and spent
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 or regulatory proceedings or investigations; AEP's
ability to efficiently manage 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; the
impact of changing expectations and demands of customers,
regulators, investors and stakeholders, including focus on
environmental, social and governance concerns; 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 contractual
arrangements, including participants in the energy trading market;
actions of rating agencies, including changes in the ratings of
debt; the impact of volatility in the capital markets on the value
of the investments held by AEP's pension, other postretirement
benefit plans, captive insurance entity and nuclear decommissioning
trust and the impact of such volatility on future funding
requirements; accounting standards periodically issued by
accounting standard-setting bodies; other risks and unforeseen
events, including wars and military conflicts, the effects of
terrorism (including increased security costs), embargoes,
wildfires, cyber security threats and other catastrophic events;
and the ability to attract and retain the requisite work force and
key personnel.
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SOURCE American Electric Power