COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 5, 1998 -- Eight employees at American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) were recently awarded up to $4,000 each for developing patented technology that will help the utility become more competitive. Under AEP’s Intellectual Property Policy, employees whose inventions successfully reach the patent application state will receive up to a $1,000 award. Those employees whose inventions are awarded by the U.S. Patent Office will receive up to an additional $4,000. “Competition in our industry is both expanding and intensifying, and the handling of property rights in inventions, knowledge and employee work products is becoming increasingly significant to AEP,” said Donald M. Clements, AEP executive vice president-corporate development, and chairman of the AEP Intellectual Property Committee. “We want to recognize the work of our employees, and to give added incentive for employees to continue to create new inventions that benefit our company,” Clements said. The first eight recipients of the AEP Patent Awards are: Engineers John Letcavitis and Scot Vierstra for developing a system, retrofit for roof-fired boilers, to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from coal-fired plants. The system, with modulating interjectory air, allows enough combustion air to support the burning of fuel, while reducing the potential for the conversion of the fuel-bound nitrogen and the atmospheric nitrogen in the combustion air to NOx. The system has been approved for patent. Letcavitis and Vierstra work in Columbus. Engineers Ali Nourai and Albert Keri, and retiree Ronald Marsico, for developing upgrade loops to increase electrical clearances of power lines from grounded supporting structures and underlying objects. A number of insulators are installed in a special configuration. The device has been approved for patent. Nourai, Keri and Marsico are in Columbus. Don Howell, director-energy information system product development; technician specialist Frank Blevins and engineer Arnie Tamagni for developing a submeasurement board which allows for measurement of customer loads on heating, air conditioning, lighting, motors and other equipment. The low-cost device can measure up to nine single-phase circuits or three three-phase circuits. A patent application has been filed. Howell, Blevins and Tamagni work in Roanoke, Va. In addition to the monetary awards, AEP’s Inventor Recognition Program will recognize and award the efforts of employee inventors. The program will include an annual Inventor Recognition Program Luncheon for those employees. AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States’ largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 3 million customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, energy consulting and energy management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio. On Dec. 22, 1997, AEP announced a definitive merger agreement for a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction with Central and South West Corp., a public utility holding company based in Dallas.