COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 13, 2003 - Melinda S. Ackerman, senior vice president - human resources for American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), has accepted an invitation to serve on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Employee Benefits Committee.

The committee is the main policy-originating body for the U.S. Chamber in the areas of health care, pension and retirement plans and other employer-provided benefits, as well as public programs such as Social Security and Medicare. It also formulates the underlying policy that determines the chamber’s response to employee benefit legislation pending before Congress.

Ackerman will serve on the committee’s Health Care and Retirement Plans subcommittees.

“I’m honored to have this opportunity to serve at the national level, working to find solutions to critical issues that affect the financial viability of U.S. businesses,” said Ackerman.

“It’s becoming more and more challenging for employers to provide the level of employee benefits we’ve been able to offer in the past,” she said. “Retirement plan funding has been negatively impacted by the downturn in the economy, while health care costs continue to escalate. So it’s critical that we each get involved to the extent possible in finding solutions to these issues.”

Ackerman, who was named to her current post at AEP in 2001, joined the company at its Kentucky Power Co. subsidiary in 1965. She has held a variety of posts with AEP and its operating companies. In addition to human resources, her experience has included customer services, marketing, corporate communications, generation and mining operations.

Ackerman earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in management from Morehead State University. She completed the AEP Management Development Program at The Ohio State University and is a graduate of the Human Resources Executive Program at the University of Michigan. As a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, Ackerman holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources designation.

American Electric Power owns and operates more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and select international markets and is the largest electricity generator in the U.S. AEP is also one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with almost 5 million customers linked to AEP’s 11-state electricity transmission and distribution grid. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.