AEP Expands Quality Sites Portfolio for Business Development

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) has announced the addition of 16 new industrial properties to its Quality Sites Program, which identifies optimal project-ready sites for customer development across its 11-state territory. The sites have undergone extensive evaluation to ensure they meet AEP's stringent readiness standards intended to minimize overall site location risk, save time and reduce site development costs.

With its expanded portfolio, AEP currently offers businesses 42 sites prepared for industrial, data center and food processing use. Three sites in Virginia, Ohio and Oklahoma already have sold.

"Our Quality Sites Program streamlines the site selection process for businesses by removing much of the guesswork and legwork involved in finding the right property," said Mark James, CEcD and AEP vice president of Economic and Business Development. "Expanding businesses can benefit from our scale. The ability to access 42 sites across 11 states through one partner provides great efficiency to a site search."

AEP partnered with Burgess & Niple ? a leading site engineering and architectural firm ? to conduct in-depth reviews on the 16 sites. Factors known to be critical for an industrial development project were vetted, including the property size and boundaries, the confirmed availability of utilities, highway access, proper zoning for industrial usage, and transparency of current land ownership and availability. In addition, sites have been evaluated for any environmental, geotechnical and archeological risks.

The other sites in AEP's Quality Sites Program were independently certified by nationally-recognized site selection consultants. AEP worked with McCallum Sweeney Consulting to certify 14 sites as project-ready for industrial development; Biggins Lacey Shapiro & Company to qualify six sites that meet the necessary requirements for colocation and enterprise data center users; and Austin Consulting to certify eight sites that exceed requirements for food processing, including transportation, infrastructure and utilities.

AEP is actively marketing the sites on aeped.com and is promoting them to site selectors globally.

American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to our customers. AEP's more than 17,000 employees operate and maintain the nation's largest electricity transmission system and more than 224,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation's largest electricity producers with approximately 33,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including 4,200 megawatts of renewable energy. AEP's family of companies includes utilities AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners, and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide.

SOURCE American Electric Power