American Electric Power to continue investing in regulated businesses, renewables and new technologies
American Electric Power (AEP) chairman, president and CEO Nicholas K. Akins told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting Tuesday in Corpus Christi, Texas that the company plans to invest $33 billion in its regulated businesses and contracted renewables.
Akins noted that the investments would include $16.6 billion in transmission and $8.3 billion in distribution. The company’s forecasted renewable energy investment between 2019 and 2023 is $2.7 billion. This number includes the company’s recent acquisition of Sempra Renewables LLC and the planned purchase of a 75 percent interest in the Santa Rita East Wind Project, which will add 951 megawatts (MW) of wind generation and storage to the company’s contracted renewable portfolio.
“AEP continually delivers strong earnings and dividend growth driven by our investments in a smarter, cleaner energy system,” Akins said. “Beyond our capital investments, our employees and their commitment to the customers and communities we serve drives the success of our company. Our talented workforce is focused on providing reliable, affordable and cleaner energy and new technologies to meet our customers’ needs and expectations.”
Akins noted that the company’s capital investment plan supports its target operating earnings growth range of 5 percent to 7 percent. Since April 2018, AEP has delivered a total shareholder return of 25.4 percent. The company increased its quarterly dividend by 8.1 percent to 67 cents per share in 2018, and the transmission business contributed 75 cents per share to earnings last year.
