American Electric Power Co., the Ohio and Tulsa based electric utility, is holding its annual meeting today. Scheduled to be there is a group of investors and environmentalists that aim to chastise management about how AEP lost its leadership position among U.S. utilities as a company that successfully deals with global warming issues.
In a press release, the investor group said that utility companies Cinergy and Duke Energy have recently “made strong public statements to put their weight behind possible federal solutions,” to global warming problems. That’s great, and I can’t wait to see what action is eventually taken.
However, while the investors insist that AEP needs to be more vocal, they don't mention the action the utility has already taken. For instance, AEP is a founding member of, and one of only four utilities that participates in, the Chicago Climate Exchange. As a result, AEP voluntarily agreed to cut carbon-dioxide emissions by a cumulative 10 percent between 2002 and 2006. AEP is also waiting for approval to build two 600-MW powerplants based on a clean coal technology known as integrated coal-gasification combined cycle.
Sure, AEP can do more. So can all industrial companies. But if investor groups are going to blast AEP for not spouting more rhetoric, I think they should also acknowledge that the company is on the right track.
One more thing. Cinergy burns coal to fire 74 percent of its powerplants, so executives are putting a lot on the line when they agree to curb carbon dioxide emissions. Duke, on the other hand, has hedged a bit. More than half of its electricity generation comes from nuclear power, a bit under 50 percent from coal.
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