GAHANNA, Ohio, Nov. 25, 2013 – Customers of AEP Ohio, a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP), have a new way to get information when their service is affected by power outages.  With a new web tool, customers now can find out when their power will be restored by logging into their account on AEPOhio.com.

 “We know outages are an inconvenience and our customers want to know when their power will be back on,” said Karen Sloneker, Director – Customer Services and Marketing of AEP Ohio. “While customers can call us to find out their estimated restoration time, they’ll now be able to find the same information through our website.”

The new tool was put to the test during the recent thunderstorm. Despite the fact that its availability was not yet widely promoted, more than 5,100 visits to the outage status page were noted.

“This is a confirmation that the tool is a success and will go a long way in improving customer experience and satisfaction,” Sloneker said.

To view outage information through the website, customers should:

• Go to AEPOhio.com/MyOutage
• Enter their user ID and password

 The next screen will show the estimated restoration time and the cause of the outage when it is identified.

 The initial estimated restoration time can change after crews arrive on-site and identify the outage cause after assessing the line, pole and equipment.

Customers are encouraged to check the website periodically for updates on their outage.

Customers also are reminded to report their outage if their outage is not reflected on their account.

AEP Ohio is continually working on ways to improve customer experience and satisfaction. Below are four new functions that are available now or will be available in the near future:

• Mobile Payments
  Customers may now add a checking or money market to their account via a smart phone and schedule their payment.

• Paperless Billing Enrollment
  Customers may now enroll in paperless billing from a mobile device.

• Mobile Alerts
   Mobile alerts will allow customers to sign up to receive proactive alerts (text or email)  about important things like outages in their area or billing due dates. The priority is to start with sending outage alerts with billing and credit to follow by the end of 2014.

• AEPOhio.com Redesign
   The AEPOhio.com redesign will be device agnostic and result in expanded functionality via mobile devices and tablets. The new website will be available in 2014.

More information about tools still in development will be announced as they come online.

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            AEP Ohio provides electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of major AEP subsidiaries Ohio Power Company in Ohio and Wheeling Power Company in the northern panhandle of West Virginia. AEP Ohio is based in Gahanna, Ohio, and is a unit of American Electric Power. News and information about AEP Ohio can be found at AEPOhio.com.

            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 and north Texas). AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. News releases and other information about AEP can be found at AEP.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

AEP Ohio                                                                                                                                                              

1-866-641-1151 or 614-883-7999

aepohiomediarelations@aep.com