Philo Plant

The caption for this photograph in our corporate archive reads: "Philo, which began operation in 1924, was the first plant in the world to reheat steam to do double duty in the process of generating electricity. It was the first plant to use steam at a temperature as high as 700 degrees F. and at a pressure as high as 600 pounds per square inch."

December/January Obituaries

AEP River Operations

Ronald Connard, 73, retired, AEP River Operations, died Jan. 8.

Jeffrey Maniscalco, 40, AEP River Operations, died Dec. 30.

Steven Newsome, 59, AEP River Operations, died Jan. 21.

AEP Service Corporation

Gene Bailey, 73, retired, Central Operations Center, died Jan. 12.

Jack Green, 83, retired, died Jan. 13.

Emil Hall, 76, retired, AEP Headquarters, died Dec. 19.

Burnell Hoffacker, 87, retired, AEP Headquarters, died Jan. 15.

Lear Roberts, 88, retired, AEP Headquarters, died Jan. 8.

Appalachian Power

James Collins, 80, retired, Lynchburg Office, died Jan. 4.

Henry Hatfield, 83, retired, Williamson Service Center, died Dec. 29.

Michael Jones, 55, Roanoke Main Office, died Jan. 16.

Basil Meadows, 65, Amos Plant, died Jan. 24.

Ronnie Perdue, 68, Marmet Hydro, died Jan. 3.

Dorothy Price, 78, retired, Madison Service Center, died Jan. 5.

Raymond Ridgeway, 76, retired, Huntington Office, died Dec. 27.

Columbus Southern Power

Mary Hand, 81, retired, Chillicothe Office, died Dec. 26.

Raymond Heimann, 90, retired, 850 Tech Center, died Dec. 29.

Myron Miller, 88, retired, Seaman Service Center, died Jan. 16.

Vicki Skinner, 69, retired, AEP-Mill Run, died Dec. 29.

David Snyder, 88, retired, 850 Tech Center, died Dec. 5.

Indiana Michigan Power

Linda Boelcke, 66, retired, Cook Nuclear Plant, died Jan. 14.

Virgil Cotton, 85, retired, Tanners Creek Plant, died Jan. 9.

John Gridley, 82, retired, Tanners Creek Plant, died Jan. 3.

Kentucky Power

Earl Lycan, 75, retired, Big Sandy Plant, died Jan. 6.

Ohio Power

David Cerisano, 85, retired, Lancaster Office, died Dec. 22.

William Ellison III, 68, Mitchell Plant, died Jan. 14.

Harold Fryman, 89, retired, East Liverpool Office, died Dec. 8.

Lonnie Leonard, 74, retired, Lancaster Service Center, died Dec. 27.

Thomas Oblak, 88, retired, Cardinal Plant, died Jan. 17.

Wade Ringer, 84, retired, Steubenville Service Center, died Jan. 2.

Alva Roush, 80, retired, Gavin Plant, died Jan. 18.

Glenn Starrett, 93, retired, Cardinal Plant, died Dec. 31.

Norman Vanmatre, 87, retired, Gavin Plant, died Jan. 14.

Evelyn Whaley, 79, retired, Portsmouth Service Center, died Jan. 6.

Public Service Company of Oklahoma

Lavon Crook, 88, retired, Tulsa General Office, died Jan. 9.

M.E. Gillett, 94, retired, Tulsa General Office, died Dec. 7.

William Henley Jr., 69, retired, Tulsa General Office, died Jan. 5.

John Leach, 85, retired, Tulsa General Office, died Jan. 19.

Kerm Rutledge, 91, retired, Tulsa General Office, died Dec. 21.

Darlene Scott, 72, retired, Tulsa General Office, died Jan. 5.

Southwestern Electric Power

Russell Bush Jr., 83, retired, Shreveport General Office, died Jan. 2.

Ralph Faulkinberry, 79, retired, Shreveport General Office, died Jan. 6.

Billy McChristian, 72, retired, Shreveport General Office, died Jan. 11.

Charles Scarborough, 77, retired, Shreveport General Office, died Jan. 7.

Texas Central

David Bridges, 87, retired, Corpus Christi Office, died Jan. 16.

Jose Longoria, 86, retired, Corpus Christi Office, died Dec. 29.

Texas North

Dolores Johns, 84, retired, Abilene General Office, died Jan. 6.

Wanda Moore, 73, retired, Abilene General Office, died Dec. 8.

January Retirements

AEP Ohio

Robert Lacy, McConnelsville Service Center, retired Jan. 25 after 42 years of service.

AEP Utility Operations

Sandra Fisher, Hurricane Call Center, retired Jan. 1 after 11 years of service.

Linda Hudson, Tulsa General Office, retired Jan. 1 after 10 years of service.

Generation

Robert Beaber, Conesville Preparation Plant, retired Jan. 27 after 22 years of service.

Dennis Custer, Conesville Preparation Plant, retired Jan. 27 after 27 years of service.

George McFarland, Conesville Preparation Plant, retired Jan. 27 after 23 years of service.

Alan Miller, Conesville Preparation Plant, retired Jan. 27 after 12 years of service.

Richard West, Conesville Preparation Plant, retired Jan. 27 after 27 years of service.

Legal

D. Michael Miller, AEP Headquarters, retired Jan. 1 after 16 years of service.

Shared Services

John Geib, Wooster Service Center, retired Jan. 29 after 42 years of service.

Transmission

Richard Eicher, Energy Delivery Headquarters-Gahanna, retired Jan. 1 after 12 years of service.

Larry Millard, Canton South Service Center, retired Jan. 1 after 35 years of service.

Stephen Wilhelm, Energy Delivery Headquarters-Gahanna, retired Jan. 1 after 38 years of service.

WiNUP Scholarship funds are available

Women’s International Network of Utility Professionals (WiNUP) offers scholarship opportunities to persons pursuing education that will lead to careers in the utility industry or allied fields. What is unfortunate is that qualified candidates are not always reached with this news, and at times the money goes unrewarded.

But you can help. If you are in school — apply for the award. Or, if you know of someone who is in school, spread the word and encourge them to apply.

WiNUP offers two grants: the Julia Kiene Fellowship Award of $2,000 and the Lyle Mamer Fellowship Award of $1,000. Both are for individuals pursuing graduate degrees. Relevant fields must relate to a career in a utility related field such as engineering, business administration, accounting, environmental sciences, communications, information technologies, and so on.

A third award of $500 is available only to WiNUP members and does not require graduate-level study. Application information is available online at WiNUP’s website under “Fellowships” and applications are due by March 31. Awards will be announced following WiNUP’s June board meeting.

Students not currently taking classes are asked to include proof of registration with their scholarship application.

Apply for the WiNUP scholarships by March 31.

Cook Nuclear Plant employees provide value to community

Cook employees Jon Harner (left) and Tiffany Rydwelski (right) reprised their roles last year as buyers in the livestock arena during the Berrien County Youth Fair, just like they did here in 2010. During “Cook Nuclear Plant Day,” Cook was the primary sponsor of the day’s activities.

(Story by Bill Schalk)

BRIDGMAN, Mich. — It’s a given that the men and women who work at Cook Nuclear Plant increase the value of living and working in Southwest Michigan by producing safe, reliable and low-cost electricity.

But that’s not the only way they provide value.

Cook employees strive in other ways to make Southwest Michigan a better place to call home. Each year our employees pull out their wallets and give thousands of dollars, or roll up their sleeves to volunteer thousands of hours to community organizations and groups.

Some of the ways Cook employees helped in 2011 are.

• Awarded $53,000 in Heart of Cook grants. This money helped 35 community organizations in Southwest Michigan and Northwest Indiana.
• Helped fund two houses for Harbor Habitat for Humanity and provided leadership and labor to build them.
• AEP matched 50% of employee contributions to United Way. Employee contributions to the 2011 campaign were $153,494, which is among the largest in the community.
• Cook employee team raised more than $12,000 for American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Berrien County and was recognized as a Diamond Sponsor.
• AEP Foundation pledged $250,000 to the Benton Harbor Boys & Girls Club’s new building.
• Made large donations to the Berrien County Youth Fair, our area’s Red Cross chapter, the Berrien County Marine Division and the Berrien County Firefighter Simulator
• Named a Berrien Regional Education Service Agency “Partner in Education.”
• Sponsored Cloverleaf Spelling Bee and co-sponsored Academic Challenge for area middle and high school students.
• Sponsored and led area Science Olympiad teams.
• Maintained strong partnership with the Lake Michigan College Energy Technology program.
• Served as a “Champion for Change” by participating in initiatives for Benton Harbor.
• Provided support and employee volunteer time to a wide range of community events including Toys for Tots, Animal Aid and military care packages.

Members of the Cook Running Club ran as a team for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in 2011. Racing for the Cure were Cook Running Club members (from left): Pete Neu, Jim Petro (standing), George Paustian, Kyra Richter, Adrian Guyberson, Liz Zordell, Samantha Reyes, Blair Zordell, Scott Richardson and Brittany Ego. Not pictured: Jessica Olp and Alex Olp.

So, why do they do all this? Why do they invest time and money into these kinds of activities and projects?

First, they are proud of their home and want to do all they can to enhance the quality of life for the people who reside here with them. Second, they want to show the community that they are part of its fabric and that they are eager to be a partner in helping it continue to thrive.

Finally, they want to continue a solid tradition of community engagement that stems back for decades. In particular, they are always reminded of the 1934 quote by George N. Tidd, former president of American Gas & Electric (later renamed American Electric Power in 1958).

“We are a citizen of each community we serve and take an active part in its affairs. Like any other citizen, we want our neighbors to think well of us. Besides, it makes good business sense. We prosper only as the community prospers; so we help it thrive in every way we can. Such is our job as we see it. We are trying to do it well and to do it better all the time.”

Navy shipmates, fellow AEP retirees reunite after 46 years on land

AEP retirees and Navy veterans Harry Morris (left) and Randall Babcock got together for the first time in 46 years to swap stories of their time together aboard the USS Pocono.

MARIETTA, Ohio — Two U.S. Navy shipmates and AEP retirees, Randall Babcock and Harry Morris, reunited recently after working their entire AEP careers — a total of 46 years — without seeing each other. In fact, they didn’t even know they had worked for the same company until recently.

Morris, of Wooster, Ohio, retired in 2005 after working 38 years as an area servicer in the Line Department at AEP Ohio’s Wooster Service Center. Babcock, who lives in Belpre, Ohio, worked at Muskingum River Plant for 31 years as a conveyor/equipment operator until his retirement in 1999.

Both Babcock and Morris served aboard the USS Pocono, AGC-16, an amphibious force command ship. The USS Pocono had extensive radio, radar and communications equipment for controlling and commanding amphibious operations. The ship, launched in 1945 and decommissioned in 1971, had facilities for officers and crew of approximately 1,330.

They learned about each other via email, and reunited recently in Marietta where they shared photos of their time in the Navy and swapped some sea stories.

Morris came aboard the ship in 1964 as a seaman and participated in a NATO training exercise in connection with the then-new conflict in Vietnam. He was a crew member when the USS Pocono participated in NATO amphibious landing exercises off the coast of Spain in October-November 1964. In late 1965, the ship returned to Norfolk, Va., and went into drydock at Portsmouth, Va., and had new personnel come on board.

This photo of the USS Pocono was taken in 1969 in Puerto Rico.

One of those new sailors was Babcock, also as a seaman. In May 1965, the two were on the ship when it was ordered to Santo Domingo as part of peacekeeping operations and rescue of American civilians held captive in the Dominican Republic region. In 1966, Morris was transferred off the ship to an amphibious unit homeported in Japan, in support of operations in Southeast Asia.

“That was the last time I saw Randall,” he said.

A few years ago, Morris discovered Babcock’s email address and made contact with him, still not knowing that both had worked for Ohio Power and AEP all those years. Then they arranged a get-together at a Marietta restaurant to recall their time of service together.

“After 46 years, it was the first time Randall and I had met after leaving the USS Pocono,” he said.

“We noted what things we learned on the Pocono during our sailing days that helped with our employment throughout the years — dealing with the weather, equipment, line handling, working at heights and working with personnel of all ranks,” said Morris.

IBM Computer

The caption for this photograph in our corporate archive reads: "IBM 1404 Computer, New York."

SWEPCO recognizes a century of service to customers this year

The Southwestern Gas and Electric Company headquarters building at Travis and Marshall streets in downtown Shreveport is shown above in a photo from March 1924. Photo from company archives

(Story by Scott McCloud)

SHREVEPORT — Southwestern Electric Power Company is celebrating a century of service this year.

“SWEPCO is celebrating a century of service to its customers this year, and 100 years is a long time,” said Venita McCellon-Allen, president and chief operating officer. ”I want to congratulate the current employees who will mark this important milestone in 2012: June 29, 1912, was the day three companies came together to form the original Southwestern Gas and Electric Company.

“Think back to when you began your career and how successful we have been as a company over the years. Remember the former leaders who guided SWEPCO during its impressive power plant construction days: Wilkes, Welsh, Pirkey, Stall, Turk and Mattison. They leave their name on generation units still serving customers today. How will you leave your mark this year as a SWEPCO employee? The first step to take is one that focuses on safety, and the rest will be history,” she said.

Formed as Southwestern Gas and Electric Company in June 1912, AEP Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) has undergone a name change twice, and no longer provides gas, water, ice or transportation services.

The original Southwestern Gas and Electric Company was the product of a merger between three utilities – Shreveport Gas, Electric Light and Power Company, Caddo Gas and Oil Company, and Texarkana Gas and Electric Company. These utilities were owned by a trio of brothers – Rufus, Henry and Charles Dawes, and in 1912 they consolidated their holdings into one company and Southwestern was born.

The Dawes retained control of Southwestern until 1925 when it was sold to Middle West Utilities. The largest of Middle West’s many holding companies was Central and South West. Southwestern became a part of CSW, which also controlled Central Power and Light Co., Public Service Company of Oklahoma and West Texas Utilities.

The company got out of the gas business in 1928. But through the 1930s and early 1940s, Southwestern was involved in other operations such as ice, water and streetcars, before divesting of these interests in the late 1940s.

The company’s ice plant at Eureka Springs, Ark., is shown above in a photo dated Sept. 24, 1940. Through the 1930s and early 1940s, the company was involved in operations such as ice, water and streetcars.Photo from company archives

Southwestern’s service territory continued to expand, and the company’s three original power plants, including the 10,000-kilowatt (KW) “giant” of its day, Arsenal Hill in Shreveport, Louisiana, were inadequate to meet the growing need. Southwestern built natural gas-fired plants and later added multiple generating units in various locations.

In 1958, after 46 years as Southwestern Gas and Electric, a new corporate name was adopted – Southwestern Electric Power Company. This name would change again 42 years later, with the American Electric Power merger of 2000 to reflect the company as its known today – AEP Southwestern Electric Power Company, or more commonly as SWEPCO. AEP celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2006.

By the early 1970s, natural gas shortages hit and long-term contracts could not be found. The advantages of coal were obvious – inexpensive, abundant and available in the U.S. Southwestern would go on to build two coal plants in the late 1970s and early 1980s – Flint Creek in Northwest Arkansas, and Welsh in East Texas.

Continued customer growth created the need for additional plants. The fuel to fire these plants was found right in SWEPCO’s own backyard – lignite. The Pirkey Plant in East Texas was completed in 1985, and the Dolet Hills Power Plant in Louisiana went on line in 1986. SWEPCO built Dolet Hills, while Central Louisiana Electric Company (Cleco) operates the plant and both companies are among four partners that share in the power produced from its single 640,000 KW unit.

While the company did not build a power plant for over 20 years, increased electricity usage and strong customer growth prompted a return to the plant-building business again, as three new proposed plants were announced in the 2006 that will add some 1.4 million KWs to the system by late 2012.

A new logo has been created to recognize SWEPCO’s century of service.

SWEPCO installed simple-cycle gas combustion turbine peaking generation in July 2007 at the Harry Mattison Power Plant in Tontitown, Ark., near Fayetteville; completed the 508,000 KW combined-cycle gas J. Lamar Stall unit in Shreveport in June 2010 at the site of the company’s oldest plant, Arsenal Hill; and construction work continues on an advanced clean coal combustion plant using ultra-supercritical technology at the John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant at Fulton, Ark., near Hope in Hempstead County. Turk Plant is over 80 percent complete and should be operational late this year. All three plants are named for former SWEPCO presidents.

The company received Texas commission approval and transferred 7,000 retail electric customers in five counties in the Texas Panhandle from AEP Texas to SWEPCO in 2007. The change was made because these customers were located in the same regional reliability council known as the Southwest Power Pool as the rest of SWEPCO’s East Texas customers. These new customers immediately saw lower electric prices, with an estimated annual savings of about 15 to 20 percent depending on usage.

Additionally, SWEPCO finalized the purchase of Valley Electric Membership Corporation (VEMCO) in October 2010. These 30,000 customers in eight northern and central Louisiana parishes also enjoy electric rate savings of about 20 percent. Adding Valley’s service area greatly expands SWEPCO’s geographic footprint in Louisiana and brings economic growth opportunities with the company’s lower rates along the Interstate 49 and Toledo Bend corridors.

SWEPCO values its most cherished assets – its customers and its employees. When the company was first formed, it had 125 employees and served only three communities – Shreveport, Bossier City and Texarkana – with a combined population of 42,000. Today, SWEPCO serves over 200 communities on its lines, representing a diverse 33,000-square mile service area of northern and central Louisiana, east and north Texas, and western Arkansas with a population of two million. There are 1,640 company employees supplying electricity to over 520,000 customers over 5,000 miles of transmission lines and about 25,500 miles of distribution power lines.

SWEPCO has most recently purchased over 469 MW of long-term renewable power capacity from wind farms in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, which will slightly lower the company’s overall cost to customers starting in 2013.

SWEPCO is proud of its 100-year commitment to reliable rates at affordable prices for its customers, and will continue to be a powerful company in the Ark-La-Tex.

Stan Wilson and Crew

Photographer Marilyn Willis had this to say about her photo: "This is a picture of retiree, Stan Wilson, Susan Acton, Transmission, and Marilyn McConnell, Legal, visiting a job site in Ohio."

Another first: AEP introduces flue gas venting technology in the U.S.

Flue gas from Cardinal Unit 3 is now vented through a 29-foot diameter fiberglass duct to the unit’s cooling tower rather than through a conventional stack. Photo by: Keith Burger

(Story by Rachel Hammer)

BRILLIANT, Ohio — On February 1, 2012, AEP added yet another entry to its list of pioneering technologies.

That day, for the first time in the U.S., the company began venting the flue gas from Cardinal Unit 3 through the hyperbolic-shaped natural draft cooling tower rather than through a conventional stack. The technology has been used in numerous new and retrofit installations in Europe for the past 25 years, but this is the first such installation in the U.S.

AEP installed this technology as part of the unit‘s flue gas desulfurization (FGD or scrubber) retrofit project. The new FGD system will remove up to 98 percent of the unit’s sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions.

Technology facts and figures Cooling tower diameter at exit: 180 feet Flue gas discharge pipe diameter: 29 feet Cooling tower to flue gas flow ratio: ~ 15:1 Existing retrofit installations: approx. 43 Existing new installations: approx. 15

AEP’s technology partner for this project was Charlotte, N.C., based SPX Cooling Technologies Inc. SPX, formerly Marley Cooling Tower, has been associated with many cooling tower projects across the AEP system.

The technology
The venting equipment is relatively simple. Keith Burger, project manager - Projects & Controls, explained that during the unit’s tie-in outage to connect the new FGD system to the generating unit, the side of the cooling tower concrete shell was reinforced and a hole was cut into it. A 29-foot diameter fiberglass duct was hoisted by crane and set into place to run from the duct leaving the FGD system into the cooling tower. At the center of the cooling tower, the duct makes a 90-degree turn to direct the flue gas upwards to exit through the cooling tower.

While the process itself is relatively simple, associated issues, such as air flow impacts, structural design, environmental permitting and associated air modeling, made it significantly more complex to secure acceptance for the project.

Deciding factors
The unique configuration of the Cardinal Unit 3 site created concerns and challenges that caused AEP to evaluate alternate technologies for venting the flue gas.

Typically, AEP has built new stacks as part of the FGD retrofit projects. At Cardinal Unit 3, the only potential location for a new stack was in close proximity to and in direct line with the flow of the water vapor plume as it exits the top of the cooling tower. In cold weather, the water vapor could freeze to the stack and form potentially hazardous ice accumulations. This ice could pose hazards for workers, equipment and reliable operations.

Alternatives were limited. According to Tim Riordan, vice president - Engineering Services, there were no real viable alternatives for placement of a new stack.

“Applying this technology in this situation is the right thing to do on many levels. First and foremost, it addresses the safety hazard. It’s also a good environmental solution. Both the science and the results from existing installations indicate that the increased mass and flow rates from the combined FGD exhaust and cooling tower water vapor plumes will disperse the flue gas in a manner that is protective of the environment,” he said.

Permitting
AEP worked closely with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) to understand any potential impacts that application of the new technology might have on ambient air quality. Ohio EPA approved the extensive modeling performed by AEP before modifying the air permit. According to Mark Runyon, senior engineer - Air Quality Services, AEP has installed four ambient sulfur dioxide monitoring stations and three meteorological stations near the plant. In accordance with the Ohio EPA permit, monitoring was performed for one year prior and will continue for a minimum for two years after initial FGD operation.

Runyon pointed out that emissions reduction equipment remains the same. So the content of the combined plume is no different from the content of the two plumes vented separately. Also, continuous emissions monitoring equipment (CEMs) placed inside the duct will monitor the plume constituent.

Construction
Construction Service’s Site Manager Dick Aeberli noted that because this was a first time evolution, there was particular emphasis on making sure everyone had a clear understanding of the execution of the critical lift plan.

Considerable effort and several months of planning were dedicated to developing this unique rigging scheme for placing the 175-ton fiberglass flue duct, which measured 220 feet in length and 29 feet in diameter, into the cooling tower. Wind speed was a major factor in making this critical lift, therefore, even the time of day was significant. In the early morning hours of October 25, the lift was executed.

“Recognizing the magnitude of this undertaking, a collective effort between the building trades, AEP and contractor management, with safety as the number one priority, we were able to complete this monumental feat,” Aeberli said.

Other cooling tower work, other firsts
Removing the cooling tower from service for the FGD project provided an opportunity to perform other cooling tower work.

The original precast concrete hot water distribution support structure for Cardinal 3 was in poor condition, requiring numerous repairs through the years and was reaching the end of its useful life. Planning and approval to replace the hot water distribution components with a more efficient design that would improve thermal efficiency already was underway. So when the FGD project came along, AEP was able to integrate the multiple projects to execute them more efficiently.

This project then became the first in the world to combine retrofitting discharge of flue gas through the cooling tower concrete shell with conversion from a cross-flow hot water distribution system to a more thermally efficient counter-flow system. Previous similar European natural draft cooling tower installations used concrete hot water distribution supports. Cardinal 3’s cooling tower fill system was rebuilt with fiberglass supports.

Technology acceptance
Plant neighbors in the Brilliant area have an ongoing interest in activities at Cardinal Plant. Throughout the construction program to add environmental controls on all three of the plant’s units, plant leaders and the project management team conducted several briefings with community leaders and several public meetings to keep the community informed.

Interest in the construction activity at Cardinal Plant was heightened considerably this fall when the hole in the side of the cooling tower was visible from Ohio Route 7. “The timing was right for another update,” commented Chuck George, plant manager. While attendance wasn’t particularly high, local media covered the meeting. “It was another good opportunity to let our neighbors know about the good things we are doing here at Cardinal, especially since all three units now have state-of-the-art environmental controls,” George added.

Cardinal Plant is located at Brilliant, Ohio, and has total coal-fired generating capacity of 1,830 megawatts. AEP owns Unit 1 and Buckeye Power owns units 2 and 3. AEP operates the facility on behalf of all owners and managed the FGD retrofit project. All three units now are equipped with selective catalytic reduction systems to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions and FGD systems to address SO₂emissions.