Charleston, W.Va., July 19, 2006 – Appalachian Power customers set a new unofficial summer peak demand for electricity Monday, then topped that peak on Tuesday. Monday customer demand for electricity was 6,259 megawatts (MW), up from the prior summer peak of 5,953 MW established July 26, 2005. The new summer peak set Tuesday, July 18, in the hour ending at 4 p.m. was 6,280 MW.

Appalachian Power set an all-time peak demand of 7,080 MW December 20, 2004. A megawatt is a measurement of electricity demand equal to one million watts. One hundred watts will light a 100-watt light bulb.

“Appalachian Power is historically a winter-peaking utility and has sufficient generating capacity to meet our customers’ summertime needs,” said Dana Waldo, Appalachian Power president and COO. “However, as more people add electric cooling systems to their homes, that gap is closing. The pace at which new peaks are being set illustrates the critical role of the transmission and distribution systems that deliver power to our customers. As a result, a number of transmission and distribution line reinforcement projects are underway across Appalachian’s service area. Keeping pace with customer demand is vitally important as we fulfil our commitment to provide customers with reliable power.”

Appalachian Power provides electricity to 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, with more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 36,000 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.

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