AEP recently mailed a letter to all company Medicare-eligible retirees and/or their spouses informing them of a change in the delivery of their prescription drug benefits which will go into effect Jan. 1, 2013. AEP will keep retirees informed of these changes as the year progresses, particularly during the Annual Enrollment period later this year.
According to Curt Cooper, director-employee benefits, AEP has decided to convert the current prescription drug coverage for retirees and/or their eligible dependents age 65 or older to a group-based, company-sponsored Medicare Part D Plan, effective Jan. 1, 2013. AEP retirees 65 and older will still have group benefits through AEP to supplement traditional Medicare (Parts A and B), and AEP will continue to subsidize the cost of retiree medical and prescription drug coverage. These changes are being driven primarily by health care reform revisions to Medicare funding for employers who offer prescription drug coverage to retirees.
“Please be assured that AEP evaluated the current plan and made the decision to change carefully — with the needs of both retirees and the company in mind,” said Cooper. “This change will allow AEP to take advantage of the enhancements in the Medicare marketplace resulting in additional governmental funding and continue to offer valuable benefits for current and future retirees.”
Election 2012: Where the candidates stand on energy
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| Positions on energy are outlined of the five candidates who are currently in the running in the 2012 race for the White House. |
(Story by Jessica Taylor)
With the race for the White House intensifying, now is a good time to begin doing your homework on where the candidates stand on various issues. One item common to all of the candidates’ agendas is energy.
Each of the four remaining Republican challengers, as well as President Obama, has dedicated portions of their campaign websites to the issue. Beyond their individual plans for the industry, the candidates make the connection between energy policy and other campaign subjects such as job creation and strengthening the economy. The matrix below contains statements pulled directly from each candidate’s official website.
Regulatory Issues Management will be continually updating the matrix as the candidates release official statements on various energy related topics.
Barack Obama (D)
- The Obama administration approved the country’s first-ever offshore wind farm in 2010. The wind farm will consist of 130 wind turbines off the coast of Cape Cod that will produce enough clean electricity to power more than 200,000 homes. The project is also expected to spur the growth of clean energy industry along the East Coast and in the Great Lakes.
- The administration has approved the construction of 13 commercial-scale solar facilities on public lands that are expected to power nearly 1.5 million homes and create 8,600 jobs.
- The President made an agreement with auto manufacturers that will improve the overall fuel economy of the nation’s auto fleet to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 — nearly twice the 27.5 mpg standard that was in place when he took office. The new standards are projected to save families an estimated $8,200 in fuel costs over the life of a vehicle.
- Under President Obama’s watch, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed the first national standards for mercury emissions and other dangerous chemicals from coal and oil-fired power plants. The new rules will help to clear our skies of pollutants that can make health problems like asthma and bronchitis worse, saving up to 17,000 lives each year.
- The Obama administration established new safety regulations for offshore drilling projects in the wake of the BP disaster, designed to prevent the same irresponsible risk-taking from happening again while continuing to allow the safe, responsible development of off-shore energy. In 2010, the United States produced more oil than it has since 2003 and the most natural gas it’s produced in 30 years.
- President Obama has made the environment a priority, moving us towards energy independence, investing in clean-energy jobs, and taking steps to improve the quality of our air and water.
- As of November 2010, the Obama administration’s policies have helped the private sector create 1 million jobs through public investments that jump-started additional private investment — nearly a quarter of those jobs in the clean energy industry.
- The clean energy sector creates the jobs of today and tomorrow, helps protect our environment, and reduces our dependence on foreign oil.
- President Obama signed a law that provided for one of the largest expansions of federally protected wilderness in decades.
- President Obama provided tax incentives and made investments in clean energy technologies such as wind turbines and advanced car batteries to grow high-technology U.S. manufacturing capacity and supply clean energy projects with American-made parts and equipment.
Newt Gingrich (R)
- Remove bureaucratic and legal obstacles to responsible oil and natural gas development in the United States, offshore and on land.
- End the ban on oil shale development in the American West, where we have three times the amount of oil as Saudi Arabia.
- Give coastal states federal royalty revenue sharing to give them an incentive to allow offshore development.
- Reduce frivolous lawsuits that hold up energy production by enacting loser pays laws to force the losers in an environmental lawsuit to pay all legal costs for the other side.
- Finance cleaner energy research and projects with new oil and gas royalties.
- Replace the Environmental Protection Agency, which has become a job-killing regulatory engine of higher energy prices, with an Environmental Solutions Agency that would use incentives and work cooperatively with local government and industry to achieve better environmental outcomes while considering the impact of federal environmental policies on job creation and the cost of energy.
Ron Paul (R)
- Remove restrictions on drilling, so companies can tap into the vast amount of oil we have here at home.
- Repeal the federal tax on gasoline. Eliminating the federal gas tax would result in an 18 cents savings per gallon for American consumers.
- Lift government roadblocks to the use of coal and nuclear power.
- Eliminate the ineffective EPA. Polluters should answer directly to property owners in court for the damages they create – not to Washington.
- Make tax credits available for the purchase and production of alternative fuel technologies.
- Driving down gas prices by allowing offshore drilling, abolishing highway motor fuel taxes, increasing the mileage reimbursement rates, and offering tax credits to individuals and businesses for the use and production of natural gas vehicles.
Mitt Romney (R)
- Establish fixed timetables for all resource development approvals.
- Create one-stop shop to streamline permitting process for approval of common activities.
- Implement fast-track procedures for companies with established safety records to conduct pre-approved activities in pre-approved areas.
- Ensure that environmental laws properly account for cost in regulatory process.
- Amend Clean Air Act to exclude carbon dioxide from its purview.
- Expand Nuclear Regulatory Commission capabilities for approval of additional nuclear reactor designs.
- Streamline NRC processes to ensure that licensing decisions for reactors on or adjacent to approved sites, using approved designs, are complete within two years.
- Conduct comprehensive survey of America’s energy reserves.
- Open America’s energy reserves for development.
- Expand opportunities for U.S. resource developers to forge partnerships with neighboring countries.
- Support construction of pipelines to bring Canadian oil to the United States.
- Prevent overregulation of shale gas development and extraction.
- Concentrate alternative energy funding on basic research.
- Utilize long-term, apolitical funding mechanisms like ARPA-E for basic research.
Rick Santorum (R)
- Eliminate all energy and most agriculture subsidies within four years letting the markets work, eliminate resources for job killing radical regulatory approaches at the EPA and refocus its mission on safe and clean water and air and commonsense conservation, eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood and support adoption, reduce funding for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for extreme positions under-mining economic freedom, eliminate funding for implementation of ObamaCare, and eliminate funding for United Nations organizations that undermine America’s interests.
- Tap into America’s vast domestic energy resources to power our 21st century economy without picking winners and losers so all American families and businesses can have lower energy cost.
- Approve the Keystone Pipeline and other job-creating initiatives delayed and burdened excessively by government regulation.
- Strengthen our national security and national defense so that we are not dependent upon our foes or competitors for critical manufacturing, technology, energy and other security needs.
Canton Customer Service
The caption for this photograph in our corporate archive reads: "OPCo Canton customer service area cashiers, receptionist & accounting mezzanine, 1969."
Conesville Coal Prep Plant to close, to be offered for sale
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| Conesville Coal Preparation Plant is shown above in a file photo. |
- 1985: Commissioned as part of the now former Columbus Southern Power (CSP) Company.
- 1988: Plant began offering coal washing and related services to nonaffiliated companies.
- 1988: Plant suffered its first fatality.
- 1996: Achieved zero lost-time and recordable incidents.
- 1997: Second consecutive year without lost-time or recordable incident.
- 1999: Automated truck dumping system added to accommodate increased truck volume.
- 1999: Truck rollover protection system installed.
- 1999: Water only cyclone circuit was replaced with a heavy media circuit to improve product quality.
- 2000: Set new records in productivity, production and costs.
- 2001: Marked seven years without a lost-time accident.
- 2001: Awarded Fuel Supply Homecoming Award for safety performance.
- 2007: Second truck scale added.
- 2007: Weighing system automated to improve efficiency.
- 2011: Marked 17 years without LTA.
November/December Obituaries
AEP Headquarters
Marilyn Pingle, 68, retired, AEP Headquarters, died Nov. 27.
AEP River Operations
Claudette Pickens, 70, retired, AEP River Operations, died Dec. 2.
Appalachian Power
John Frazier, 91, retired, Charleston Office, died Nov. 27.
William Lindamood, 91, retired, Gate City Service Center, died Dec. 18.
Ernest Linkous, 91, retired, Bluefield Office, died Nov. 30.
Sandra Martin, 68, retired, John W. Vaughan Center, died Nov. 14.
Junious Rayfield, 88, retired, Kingsport Service Center, died Nov. 25.
Carl Searls, 89, retired, Sporn Plant, died Dec. 9.
William Wiseman, 82, retired, Beckley Service Center, died Nov. 15.
Columbus Southern Power
Joseph Blakley, 72, retired, Conesville Plant, died Nov. 26.
Francis Hayes Jr., 79, retired, Athens Service Center, died Dec. 9.
Joseph Marcum, 66, Energy Delivery Headquarters, died Dec. 10.
Danny Maynard, 39, Columbus Northeast Service Center, died Dec. 23.
Eugene Wright, 70, retired, Columbus Southeast Service Center, died Nov. 27.
Indiana Michigan Power
Richard Bueche, 80, retired, Mishawaka Hydro, died Nov. 19.
Russell Graf Jr., 66, South Bend Service Center, died Dec. 10.
Orval Green, 99, retired, Tanners Creek Plant, died Nov. 21.
Larry Martin, 72, retired, Muncie Service Center, died Dec. 20.
Charles Phelps, 88, retired, Muncie Service Center, died Dec. 9.
Thomas Sanders, 79, retired, One Summit Square, died Nov. 27.
Conrad Shields, 84, retired, Marion Office, died Nov. 26.
Manuel Verdeal, 68, retired, Muncie Service Center, died Nov. 21.
Ohio Power
Lowell Ashcraft, 88, retired, Southern Ohio Coal Company, died Dec. 6.
Richard Hartman, 86, retired, Zanesville Office, died Nov. 30.
Gordon Jones, 85, retired, Zanesville Office, died Dec. 13.
Woodrow Schey, 98, retired, Paulding Service Center, died Nov. 28.
Paul Simmons, 81, retired, Lancaster Office, died Nov. 28.
Joseph Smith, 38, Gavin Plant, died Dec. 13.
Public Service Company of Oklahoma
Carolyn Bull, 60, Tulsa General Office, died Dec. 17.
Malcolm Lawler, 88, retired, Tulsa General Office, died Nov. 16.
Billy Williams, 79, retired, Tulsa General Office, died Dec. 6.
Roman Willy, 84, retired, Tulsa General Office, died Nov. 15.
Southwestern Electric Power
Donald Maples, 59, Flint Creek Plant, died Dec. 6.
Robert May, 80, retired, Shreveport General Office, died Dec. 19.
Warren Stroud, 82, retired, Shreveport General Office, died Dec. 10.
John Turpin, 81, retired, Shreveport General Office, died Dec. 3.
Texas Central
Barney Davis, 98, retired, Corpus Christi Office, died Nov. 24.
Nancy Graves, 70, Victoria Service Center, died Dec. 20.
Texas North
Tildon Hewitt, 83, retired, Abilene General Office, died Dec. 20.
Wendell McWhirter, 88, retired, Abilene General Office, died Nov. 11.
December Retirements
AEP River Operations
James Hill, AEP River Operations, retired Dec. 1 after 15 years of service.
AEP Texas
Luther Smith, Sterling City, retired Dec. 1 after 35 years of service.
AEP Utility Operations
Brenda Dunn, 850 Tech Center, retired Dec. 1 after 25 years of service.
Dorothy Wherry, Tulsa General Office, retired Dec. 31 after 18 years of service.
Generation
Molly Cummings, Pirkey Plant, retired Dec. 15 after 13 years of service.
James Long Jr., Welsh Plant, retired Dec. 6 after 33 years of service.
John Owens, Clinch River Plant, retired Dec. 1 after 36 years of service.
James Robinett, Glen Lyn Plant, retired Dec. 17 after 26 years of service.
Junior Woods, Amos Plant, retired Dec. 1 after 18 years of service.
Indiana Michigan Power
Thomas Anderson, Buchanan Nuclear Generation Office, retired Dec. 31 after 31 years of service.
Craig Palleschi, St. Joseph Service Center, retired Dec. 10 after 36 years of service.
Shared Services
Alfredo Lara, Pharr North Service Center, retired Dec. 30 after 27 years of service.
Adrianne Meade, Big Sandy Plant, retired Dec. 17 after 11 years of service.
Jimmy Stinnett, Abilene General Office, retired Dec. 24 after 32 years of service.
Steave Webb, Longview Office, retired Dec. 18 after 36 years of service.
Charles Fox is named 2011 Oglebay contest winner
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| Charles Fox |
WHEELING, W.Va. — The winner of this year’s Oglebay mini-vacation contest is Charles Fox, region office manager in Generation’s EP&FS Regional Service Organization, at the Pt. Pleasant Office and Service Center, for Appalachian Power and Kentucky Power.
Fox and a guest will be treated to three days and two nights’ deluxe lodging, breakfast each morning, one evening’s dinner at Oglebay’s lake-view dining room and daily admission passes for park activities such as boating, fishing, miniature golf, tennis and swimming. He has the entire year to take advantage of the exciting getaway.
This is the 17th year employees and retirees were invited to participate in the contest. With approximately 1,145 entries, the contest not only drew interest from all 11 states which AEP serves but also from retirees residing throughout the U.S. The winner was selected using an online random number generator.
Oglebay Resort and Conference Center is nestled in the northern panhandle of West Virginia and encompasses 1,700 acres of beautiful recreational countryside.
Lipitor goes generic! Now what?
According to a Nov. 29 story in the Wall Street Journal, Lipitor is the biggest-selling prescription drug of all time and 8.7 million Americans take Lipitor for high cholesterol. With respect to AEP, Medco Health (AEP’s pharmacy vendor) indicates that over 3,600 employees, retirees or eligible family members currently take Lipitor. Medco is in the process of sending an informational letter to all AEP employees who are users of Lipitor.
On November 30, 2011, Lipitor’s patent expired, making way for pharmaceutical companies to offer a generic version. One of the first companies to do this is Ranbaxy and they have now launched atorvastatin, the generic of Lipitor. The generic version has been determined by the Food and Drug Administration to contain the same active ingredients as brand-name Lipitor and to be as safe and effective, but will be available at a lower cost.
Generics must contain the same key ingredients and prove to be equivalent in order to receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Here are some frequently asked questions from Medco about the switch:
Q: I recently got my prescription for Lipitor and the bottle states that I got a generic and my co-pay was a generic co-pay. But when I opened the bottle, I found the same Lipitor tablets I have always received. Why is this?
A: If you use Medco’s mail-order pharmacy, it’s possible your generic Lipitor prescription may be filled with brand-name Lipitor pills. In this case, Medco is dispensing Lipitor as the generic and charging you the generic co-payment. Using a brand drug as the generic is known as a “house generic.”
Prescriptions that include “Dispense As Written” and indicate only a brand medication may be dispensed will be dispensed as a brand at the nonpreferred brand co-insurance percentage as dictated by the AEP plan.
Q: Will I be notified that my prescription for Lipitor will be changed to a generic?
A: Yes, Medco will be notifying all Lipitor users under the AEP prescription drug plan about these changes.
Q: According to the Medco Health website, the cost of a 30-day supply of Lipitor at retail under the AEP plan is not much more than the generic, atorvastatin. I thought generic drugs were substantially less expensive than brand-name drugs. What gives?
A. When patent protection ends for a brand drug, in most cases one manufacturer (in this case Ranbaxy) is awarded a six-month exclusive right to produce the generic form of that particular brand drug. During the exclusivity period (first six months) for atorvastatin, the price of the single source generic will be less than the brand, but not significantly. Once more generic manufacturers enter the marketplace, the price will begin dropping over time.
Q: How can I get more information?
A: For questions about Lipitor, its generic version or your prescription drug plan, call Medco at 1-800-841-3045.
Engineers
The caption for this photograph in our corporate archive reads: "Engineers discussing layout for substations, 1939."
Every day is Veterans Day for Kentucky Power’s Bobby Reynolds
Bobby Reynolds, a Kentucky Power line crew supervisor who serves on the Governor's Advisory Board for Veterans Affairs, was instrumental in raising funds for thiis monument honoring two Greenup County residents who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for their heroism in the Korean War. The monument is located in the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Northeast.
WURTLAND, Ky. – - – According to the calendar, Veterans Day comes just once a year, on November 11. But if you’re Bobby Reynolds, a line crew supervisor with Kentucky Power, nearly every day is Veterans Day.
That’s because Reynolds is involved in a host of activities and organizations supporting veterans’ causes. And, needless to say, he’s a veteran himself, having served for four years with the U. S. Army and for 22 years with the Army Reserves, where he held the rank of sergeant major.
A 30-year employee with Kentucky Power, Reynolds interrupted his line crew work twice for tours of duty in Iraq. He served as a combat engineer during his 2003 tour of duty in Iraq, then worked as a truck driver during his second tour of duty in 2004-05.
Today, Reynolds serves as one of the members of the Governor’s Advisory Board for Veterans Affairs, and he was recently reappointed to a second two-year term on the board by Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear.
“Serving on the Governor’s Advisory Board is something I really enjoy,” said Reynolds, who represents the AMVETS
The Congressional Medal of Honor monument was dedicated on the same day as the dedication of the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Northeast.
organization of Kentucky on the board. “I talk to the veterans here in the Ashland area, and I attend the quarterly meetings of AMVETS’ state officers, and I relay their thoughts and concerns to the people in Frankfort.
“I’ve met Governor Beshear – - he comes to some of our quarterly Advisory Board meetings – - and I can honestly say he’s a very big supporter of Kentucky’s veterans. Then, of course, part of my job is to convey what I learn in Frankfort to back the AMVETS organization.”
The Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs recently opened a cemetery for veterans and their families in Greenup County, not far from Ashland, and Reynolds has been instrumental in efforts to provide proper recognition for some of Greenup County’s war heroes.
“A veterans cemetery for this area is something that has been anticipated for the last 20 years, and it finally became reality in the fall of 2010,” Reynolds said. “The state set a goal of establishing a veterans cemetery within 75 miles of every resident of Kentucky, and this is the fourth of the five cemeteries that are being established.”
Reynolds said the 78-acre Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Northeast, built with $6.1 million in funding from the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, already has more than 100 veterans and family members interred.
“Greenup County is the only county in the United States that has two Congressional Medal of Honor recipients from the same war, and I was asked to head up a 10-member committee to raise funds for a monument to honor those two gentlemen who both served in Korea,” he said.
“It took us 18 months, but we were able to raise the money for a beautiful Congressional Medal of Honor memorial that is the centerpiece of the cemetery,” Reynolds noted. “We set up a 501(c) 3 organization and the whole nine yards. One of the Medal of Honor recipients, Ernest West, still lives in Wurtland, but the other, John Collier, was killed in action in Korea.”
Sculpted from black speckled granite, the monument measures eight feet tall by five feet wide and is nearly a foot thick. Perched atop the monument are bronze, full-sized statues of both West and Collier, in action poses. “These bronze statues are so detailed, you can even see their fingernails,” Reynolds said. “We are very proud of that monument.”
The Congressional Medal of Honor recipients’ monument was dedicated on the same day that the veterans’ cemetery was dedicated. And now, Reynolds said, a second large monument is nearly ready to be added to the landscape.
“I have a long-time friend by the name of Bill Kelly who fought in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. Bill is 88 now, and he I had been talking about creating a Battle of the Bulge monument for quite some time,” Reynolds explained. “Earlier this year, we decided that now was the time to do it. So I formed a committee in May – - only three members this time – - and began raising funds for it.”
A veteran of two tours of duty in Iraq, Bobby Reynolds has 30 years of service with Kentucky Power and has been a line crew supervisor since 2005.
The Battle of the Bulge monument that will grace the veterans cemetery will be six feet tall and five feet wide. “It’s cut in a very unique shape. The front of the monument will have the Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge emblem and an American flag, while the back will have a brief history of the battle – - about 10 lines of text – - and a quote from Winston Churchill.”
Reynolds said the battle monument is nearly completed and will be shipped to Greenup County in early 2012. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to bring all these older veterans out in the snow and cold, though, so we’ll wait until spring to have a formal dedication.”
But that’s not all. This Wurtland native envisions a Vietnam War memorial gracing the cemetery someday and he admits he’s already “started shaking the bushes” to generate support for the idea. “It’s going to happen,” he promised. Someday, he would also like to create a coffee-table book of photographs of veterans memorials in the Tri-State (Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia) area.
In his leisure time, Reynolds is also a district officer with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of the local American Legion. He admits that being involved with the Governor’s Advisory Board, the veterans organizations and the cemetery consumes a great deal of his free time, but he insists there’s nothing he’d rather do.
“I love doing this,” he enthused. “I love recognizing these old heroes. I appreciate what they’ve done. It’s good for the community – - it helps bring us all together. The people who served in World War II and Korea aren’t going to be with us forever. I want to give them the recognition they deserve while at least some of them are still with us.”
