COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 5, 2001 — American Electric Power and ALFA, S.A. de C.V. have closed a deal to sell the Enertek Cogeneration Facility located in Altamira, Tamaulipas, Mexico to Iberdrola of Madrid, Spain. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

The sale was finalized June 30, 2001.

AEP (through its subsidiary CSW International) and ALFA each owned 50 percent of the Enertek plant, a 120-megawatt natural gas-fired simple-cycle cogeneration plant built primarily to serve the Altamira industrial complex. The plant provides steam — 820,000 pounds per hour — and electricity requirements for the complex. Electricity is also sold to end users as far away as Monterrey, and other parts of central Mexico.

When it began commercial operation in 1998, Enertek was the first large cogeneration facility in Mexico with long-term gas supply and transmission services contracts.

Dwayne L. Hart, AEP Energy Services vice president, says that, "AEP is pleased to have been partners with ALFA in pioneering the development of cogeneration projects in Mexico. The sale of Enertek is consistent with our strategy of maximizing the value of our asset portfolio through acquisitions, divestitures, and potential joint ventures. The Enertek sale is part of this value creation process."

AEP will use cash from the sale to buy down debt. The sale represents a one-time gain of approximately three cents per share.

American Electric Power is a multinational energy company based in Columbus, Ohio. AEP owns and operates more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity, making it America's largest generator of electricity.

The company is also a wholesale energy marketer and trader, ranking second in the U.S. in electricity volume with a growing presence in natural gas. AEP provides retail electricity to more than 7 million customers worldwide and has holdings in the U.S. and select international markets.

Wholly owned subsidiaries are involved in power engineering and construction services, energy management and telecommunications.

News releases and other information about AEP can be found on the Web at http://www.aep.com .