AEP Announces Leadership Changes to Empower Local Operations and Drive Growth

Leadership and Organizational Changes - The company is initiating a search for a newly created president role to lead the AEP Transmission business, which is a key growth area as the company invests in enhancing reliability and meeting customer needs [1][2] - The executive vice president of Regulatory and chief administrative officer role is being eliminated, resulting in the departure of Peggy Simmons [2] - Chris Beam, executive vice president of Energy Services, plans to retire in February 2025 and will serve as executive vice president and senior advisor until then [2] - Shane Lies, executive vice president and chief nuclear officer, will transition to a new role as executive vice president of Projects and Services, overseeing various functions including generation shared services and strategic supplier management [2] - Kelly Ferneau, site vice president at AEP's Donald C Cook Nuclear Plant, has been promoted to executive vice president and chief nuclear officer, succeeding Shane Lies [2] - Scott Dailey, managing director of renewable generation, will succeed Kelly Ferneau as site vice president at the Cook Nuclear Plant [2] - Power plant managers will now report to the operating company presidents, and the economic development function will transition to the operating companies [2] - Corporate regulatory services and procurement will be aligned under the chief financial officer [2] Strategic Goals and Investments - The company is investing $43 billion over the next five years to make the electric grid cleaner and more reliable [3] - AEP is on track to achieve an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 levels by 2030 and aims to reach net zero by 2045 [3] Company Overview - AEP operates and maintains more than 40,000 miles of transmission lines, the nation's largest electric transmission system, and over 225,000 miles of distribution lines, delivering power to 5.6 million customers in 11 states [3] - The company has approximately 29,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including nearly 6,000 megawatts of renewable energy [3] - AEP's family of companies includes utilities such as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power, and others, as well as AEP Energy, which provides competitive energy solutions nationwide [3]