SHREVEPORT, La., May 27, 2009—Drew Seidel, energy production superintendent at SWEPCO’s Welsh Power Plant near Pittsburg, Texas, has been named plant manager at  the company’s Pirkey Power Plant near Hallsville.  Seidel succeeds Arne Melson, who will retire this July. Stan Minter has accepted the energy production superintendent position at Welsh. 
 
A 17-year employee, Seidel joined the generation organization in 1992 and has extensive engineering, operations, maintenance and management experience at both natural gas and coal-fired American Electric Power (AEP) power plants across Texas, including the Knox Lee Power Plant near Longview.
 
Seidel earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University and a master of business administration degree from University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa. He has completed the AEP/Ohio State University (OSU) Fisher College of Business Strategic Leadership Program. “Drew’s experience and his emphasis on safety will bring great value to continued successful operations at Pirkey,” said Paul Franklin, SWEPCO Vice President, Generating Assets.

A Ft. Worth native, Seidel lives in Longview and is active in the community, serving leadership roles in the Longview Lions Club and at Greggton United Methodist Church. He is a coach in the Longview Boys Baseball Association, and he and his wife Heather are involved parents at the Trinity School of Texas, where their three children attend. Seidel enjoys running and attending Texas A&M football games.
 
Melson began his SWEPCO career as an engineer at Knox Lee in 1972 and   worked on the Welsh units 2 and 3 construction sites. He moved to Pirkey in 1981 during construction there and later was named plant manager in 1987. Melson holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. He lives in Hallsville and has two grown children. “Under Arne’s leadership, the Pirkey staff achieved significant safety performance levels and was awarded AEP’s Horizon Award for excellence in 2004. He always encouraged employees to develop solutions to problems in a safer, smarter and more productive manner,” adds Franklin.

Minter joined the company in 1991 and has held various engineering, training and process improvement positions at several AEP power plants in Texas and in the regional engineering and technical skills group. A Ft. Worth native and resident of Mt. Vernon, Texas, with five children and a sixth on the way this August, Minter earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University and a master of business administration degree from Centenary College in Shreveport, La. He also has completed the AEP/OSU Leadership Program.

AEP Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) is an operating unit of American Electric Power Company (AEP), serving over 474,000 customers in western Arkansas, northwestern Louisiana, and in east and north Texas.