COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 21, 2001 - American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of 4,000 megawatts of coal-fired generation in the United Kingdom from Edison Mission Energy, a subsidiary of Edison International (NYSE: EIX).

The companies announced the initial agreement on Oct. 8. The acquisition is valued at US$960 million (UK£650 million) and will be immediately accretive to AEP’s earnings by approximately $0.06 per share in 2002.

“With the completion of this acquisition, we are now poised to replicate our successful North American wholesale energy strategy in Europe," said Hank Jones, senior vice president and managing director of AEP subsidiary AEP Energy Services Ltd. "In the U.S. we have built a strong trading and marketing organization that is linked to a solid base of generating and gas pipeline assets.

"Now, with the acquisition of these two power plants, we have established a similar link between the generation assets and our London-based energy trading and marketing organization."

AEP has funded the acquisition with bank financing and is working with a group of financial institutions to implement the permanent financing arrangements in the first quarter of 2002.

Assets acquired are:

• Fiddler’s Ferry, a four-unit, 2,000-megawatt station on the River Mersey in northwest England, approximately 200 miles from London.

• Ferrybridge, a four-unit, 2,000-megawatt station located on the River Aire in northeast England, approximately 200 miles from London.

The transaction also includes the fuel supplies associated with Fiddler’s Ferry and Ferrybridge.

American Electric Power is a multinational energy company based in Columbus, Ohio. AEP owns and operates more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity, making it America´s largest generator of electricity. The company is also a leading wholesale energy marketer and trader, ranking second in North America in wholesale electricity and wholesale natural gas volume. AEP provides retail electricity to more than 7 million customers worldwide and has holdings in the U.S. and select international markets. Wholly owned subsidiaries are involved in power engineering and construction services.

The comments set forth above include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including (1) statements concerning the Company´s plans, objectives, expected performance and expenditures and (2) other statements that are other than statements of historical fact. These forward-looking statements reflect assumptions, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements are electric load and customer growth, abnormal weather conditions, availability of generating capacity, the ability to recover net regulatory assets and other stranded costs in connection with deregulation of generation, the outcome of environmental regulation and litigation, the impact of fluctuation in commodity prices and interest rates, and other risks and unforeseen events over which the Company has no control. The reader is also directed to the Company´s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for additional factors that may impact the Company´s results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, historical results may not be indicative of the Company´s future performance.