Our business is to produce electricity and deliver it over high-voltage power lines to lower-voltage lines that transport it to our customers. We have a responsibility to deliver electricity to our 5.2 million homes and businesses safely, reliably and cost effectively. While the system we operate is complex and aging, it is vital to the economy and to our quality of life.

Demand for electricity is growing despite energy efficiency programs, largely due to population growth and the rising number of electronic appliances, industrial equipment and other devices that people rely on for everything from entertainment to health care. Although the pace of growth has slowed due to the recession, we must plan for these needs. As the demand for electricity increases, so does the expectation that we will deliver uninterrupted power wherever and whenever it is wanted. We invest significant resources in new equipment and processes to meet that expectation.

We use a variety of fuels to reduce emissions and to ensure reliability. Coal is our primary fuel because it is a low-cost, abundant, reliable and secure domestic resource that is often located near our power plants. We also use nuclear, wind, hydro, natural gas, biomass and solar power to generate electricity.

We have begun to lay the foundation to transform our energy delivery system to lower emissions, improve efficiency and reliability, give customers more control over their usage and costs, and ensure energy security. This foundation is being built through our gridSMART^SM initiative, construction of power plants, diversification of our resources and investments in transmission and advanced coal technologies.

• For more data, please see the Product Responsibility (PR) section of AEP’s Global Reporting Initiative G3 questionnaire.

“Having the real-time reporting means I can actively monitor which items in my house are the worst energy consumers and do something about them, right there.”

Q&A with Paul Ross (pdf)