COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 10, 2004 - In a ruling issued today Judge Algenon L. Marbley of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio dismissed all claims brought against American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and individual defendants in 11 cases that were consolidated in the case of The Albert Fadem Trust v. American Electric Power.

The consolidated cases were federal securities actions. The original complaints were filed in late 2002 and early 2003. The plaintiffs claims centered on allegations that AEP did not disclose that five traders had filed inaccurate reports about natural gas trades to industry publications. AEP discovered the inaccurate data reporting, immediately fired the five natural-gas traders, and reported the traders’ activities to the appropriate regulatory agencies.

In today’s decision, the court concluded that there were no actionable misstatements or omissions in any of AEP´s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other public disclosures. The court also found in favor of all current and former directors and officers of AEP named as defendants in the action, dismissing all claims of securities violations against them.

By dismissing the case "with prejudice," the court expressly denied plaintiffs´ request for an opportunity to file an amended complaint with new or revised allegations.

"We are extremely gratified by the court’s ruling," said Susan Tomasky, AEP executive vice president and chief financial officer. "We believe firmly that our securities filings were appropriate and are pleased that the Court has dismissed this lawsuit."

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.

-


These reports made by AEP and its registrant subsidiaries contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although AEP and 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; available sources and costs of fuels; 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; new legislation and government regulation including requirements for reduced emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, carbon and other substances; resolution of pending and future rate cases, negotiations and other regulatory decisions (including rate or other recovery for environmental compliance); oversight and/or investigation of the energy sector or its participants; resolution of litigation (including pending Clean Air Act enforcement actions and disputes arising from the bankruptcy of Enron Corp.); AEP’s ability to reduce its operation and maintenance costs; the success of disposing of investments that no longer match AEP’s corporate profile; AEP’s ability to sell assets at attractive prices and on other attractive terms; international and country-specific developments affecting foreign investments including the disposition of any current foreign investments; 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 on a point of 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 and preferred stock; volatility and changes in markets for electricity, natural gas, and other energy-related commodities; changes in utility regulation, including the establishment of a regional transmission structure; accounting pronouncements periodically issued by accounting standard-setting bodies; the performance of AEP’s pension plan; prices for power that AEP generates and sells at wholesale; and changes in technology and other risks and unforeseen events, including wars, the effects of terrorism (including increased security costs), embargoes and other catastrophic events.