SEC Company Response from AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER CO INC (AEP) (CIK 0000004904) (AEP) — May 8, 2007
AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER CO INC (AEP) (CIK 0000004904)
Date: May 8, 2007 · CIK: 0000004904 · Accession: 0000004904-07-000100
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
Referenced dates: April 24, 2007
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CORRESP
1
filename1.htm
Response to April 24, 2007 SEC Comment Letter
American
Electric
Power
1
Riverside Plaza
Columbus,
OH 43215-2373
Joseph
M.
Buonaiuto
Senior
Vice
President
&
Chief
Accounting
Officer
614-716-2821
fax:
614-716-1187
jmbuonaiuto@aep.com
Securities
and Exchange Commission
100
F
Street NE
Washington,
DC 20549
May
8,
2007
RE: American
Electric Power Company, Inc., File No. 1-3525
AEP
Generating Company, File No. 0-18135
AEP
Texas
Central Company, File No. 0-346
AEP
Texas
North Company, File No. 0-340
Appalachian
Power Company, File No. 1-3457
Columbus
Southern Power Company, File No. 1-2680
Indiana
Michigan Power Company, File No. 1-3570
Kentucky
Power Company, File No. 1-6858
Ohio
Power Company, File No. 1-6543
Public
Service Company of Oklahoma, File No. 0-343
Southwestern
Electric Power Company, File No. 1-3146
Form
10-K
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006
Filed
February 28, 2007
Responses
to the comment letter dated April 24, 2007 from the staff (the “Staff”) of the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) regarding the
above-captioned Report are provided herewith, including the text of the
Staff’s
comments.
***
Form
10-K for Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2006
1.
Our
records show the File Number for AEP Texas Central Company is 1-12973,
rather than file number 0-346 that appears on the cover page of
your
reports. Likewise, our reports show the File Number for Public
Service
Company of Oklahoma is 1-12945 rather than file number 0-343 that
appears
on the cover page of your reports. Please make the appropriate
revisions.
Response:
We
believe the file numbers of 0-346 for AEP Texas Central Company (“ATC”) and
0-343 for Public Service Company of Oklahoma (“PSO” and, with ATC, “Filers”) as
reflected on the Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Form 10-K”) are accurate. The
Commission’s EDGAR database indicates that the foregoing file numbers were used
for these registrants from 1995 through early 1997.
In
1997,
both Filers formed wholly-owned trusts that issued trust-preferred securities
in
registered offerings. These securities were initially registered on the
NYSE.
Accordingly, at the time of issuance, the Filers each filed a Form 8-A
with the
Commission, and new file numbers were issued. In each of these transactions,
the
trust was identified as the issuer and ATC and PSO were identified as
guarantors. These securities are no longer outstanding.
We
did
not believe that the Filers adopted the new SEC File Numbers as a result
of
these filings. We believe the original SEC File Number assigned to ATC
(0-346)
and PSO (0-343) are the correct file numbers. Tom Berkemeyer in our Legal
Department spoke with Velma Smith in the SEC’s EDGAR Support Group to discuss
this issue. Once the SEC EDGAR Support Group advises us of the appropriate
file
numbers, PSO and ATC will use those file numbers in future filings.
Exhibit
13
American
Electric Power Company, Inc. and Subsidiary Companies
Management’s
Financial Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations, page
A-2
Results
of Operations, page A-6
2.
We
note your presentation of earnings per share by segment, which
represent
non-GAAP financial measures. Please disclose how these measures
are used
by management and in what way they provide meaningful information
to
investors. Additionally, please identify these per share measures
as
non-GAAP measures of performance and disclose that the non-GAAP
measures
should not be considered as an alternative to earnings per share
determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of operating
performance. Refer to Item 10(e)(1)(i) of Regulation S-K and Question
11
of our “Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Use of Non-GAAP
Measures,” available on our website at www.sec.gov.
Response:
In
future
filings, AEP will remove the earnings per share by segment
information.
Utility
Operation, page A-7
3.
In
segment footnote (a) on page A-111 you disclose that the Plaquemine
Cogeneration Facility is in the “All Other” segment. Please explain to us
why expenses at this facility contributed to the increase in other
operation and maintenance expenses of the “Utility Operations” segment as
disclosed on page A-10. Please also explain to us why the operation
of the
facility affected revenues, fuel and other consumables used for
electric
generation and other operation and maintenance expenses of OPCo
with no
effect on income as disclosed on page
I-9.
Response:
AEP’s
interest in the Plaquemine Facility (“Facility”) was sold in the fourth quarter
of 2006. The interest in the Facility was recorded on the books of a nonutility
subsidiary of AEP whose operations were included in “All Other” in the Business
Segments Footnote. The interest in the Facility was recorded as an owned
asset
under a lease financing transaction with Juniper Capital L.P. (reference
AEP’s
2003 Form 10-K, page A-109). The Facility was subleased to Dow Chemical
Company
(“Dow”) which used a portion of the energy produced by the Facility and sold
the
excess energy to AEP Power Marketing, Inc. (“AEPM”) pursuant to a purchase power
and sale agreement (“PPA”).
Before
the Facility commenced operations, AEPM assigned its rights under the PPA
to
Ohio Power Company (“OPCo”), one of AEP’s utility subsidiaries. AEPM did not
have a trading organization in place to support sales of power from the
Facility, and under the Code of Conduct of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (“FERC”), AEPM could not use the existing trading organization at
American Electric Power Service Corporation (“AEPSC”), which acts as agent for
OPCo for power sales. OPCo’s retail generation rates had become deregulated in
September 2000 and it had existing authorization from the FERC to sell
wholesale
power at market-based rates. The most efficient way to perform under this
PPA
was to assign it from AEPM to OPCo, thereby avoiding the necessity to form
and
maintain a separate trading organization. However, in order to mitigate
any risk
of potential losses related to this contract at a public utility company,
OPCo
entered into an indemnification agreement for this contract with the parent
of
AEPM (AEP Resources, Inc. or “AEPR”). When market revenues were less than the
related incurred costs, AEPR paid OPCo an indemnity adjustment. The indemnity
agreement between AEPR and OPCo effectively held OPCo harmless from market
exposure related to its PPA with Dow.
The
PPA
required OPCo to purchase up to approximately 800 MW of such excess energy
from
Dow for a 20-year term. The Facility was a major source of steam supply
for Dow
which operated the Facility at certain minimum levels. OPCo was obligated
to
purchase the energy generated at those minimum operating levels. The PPA
required OPCo to reimburse Dow for the operation and maintenance costs
of the
Facility, including fuel. The indemnity adjustment was required within
each
respective quarter and year for the Facility’s operations from March 2004
through December 2006.
Although
both OPCo and AEP’s “Utility Operations” segment had no net income impact from
the transactions related to the Facility, it did have fluctuations in related
expenses and revenues. The indemnification payment to OPCo from AEPR effectively
transferred any risk of loss associated with the Facility to AEPR, which
is
reflected in the “All Other” Business Segments footnote consistent with the
actual economics of the respective Facility transactions.
Consolidated
Statements of Income, page A-45
4.
Please
present the subtotal “Income before extraordinary items and cumulative
effects of changes in accounting principles” as required by Item
5-03(b)(16) of Regulation S-X.
Response:
In
future
filings, AEP and its registrant subsidiaries will include the subtotal
“Income
before extraordinary items and cumulative effects of changes in accounting
principles”, when applicable.
Note
1. Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, page
A-51
General
5.
Please
tell us and disclose how you account for sales and purchases of
power to
and from regional transmission organizations. Specifically address
whether
you account for these transactions on a gross or net
basis.
Response:
Most
of
the power produced at the generation plants of our East operating companies
(Appalachian Power Company, Columbus Southern Power Company, Indiana Michigan
Power Company, Kentucky Power Company and Ohio Power Company, collectively,
the
“AEP East Companies”) is sold to PJM, the regional transmission organization
(“RTO”) operating in our service territory, and we purchase power back from the
same RTO to supply power to our load. These power sales and purchases are
reported on a net basis in Operating Revenues in the respective registrants’
financial statements. Other RTOs in which the Company operates do not function
in the same manner as PJM. They function as balancing organizations and
not as
an exchange.
For
the
remaining power transactions with RTOs, we account for the following types
of
energy marketing and risk management activities as follows:
·
On
page A-56 of the 2006 Form 10-K, in the third sentence of the second
paragraph under Energy
Marketing and Risk Management Activities
states: "We include the unrealized and realized gains and losses
on
wholesale marketing and risk management transactions that are accounted
for using MTM in Revenues on our Consolidated Statements of Income
on a
net basis".
·
Certain
physical energy purchases from RTOs that are identified as non-trading
(accrual accounting treatment) are accounted for on a gross basis
in
Purchased Energy for Resale in the AEP Consolidated Statements
of Income,
and Purchased Electricity for Resale in the subsidiaries' Statements
of
Income.
In
future
filings, AEP and its registrant subsidiaries will expand our disclosure
related
to sales and purchases to and from RTOs.
Property,
Plant and Equipment and Equity Investments, page A-53
6.
With
respect to your nonregulated
operations, please explain to us why you charge retirements from
plant
accounts, net of salvage, to accumulated depreciation rather than
recording a gain or loss.
Response:
The
AEP
Utility Operations segment’s generation fleet provides power to its cost based
regulated utilities and is managed as an integrated pool. In Ohio and Virginia
(until recently), generating plants are considered nonregulated. However,
operationally they were retained in AEP’s power pool and used to supply power to
the east utility operating companies. In addition, several of the generating
plants are jointly owned and are considered both “regulated” and “nonregulated”
(see discussion below). Because the operational nature of the nonregulated
plants did not change, AEP did not change its depreciation policies related
to
the plants that are considered “nonregulated”. Accordingly, these generation
assets continued to be included in the assets of the Utility Operations
segment.
At
certain generating plants, the individual generating units are owned by
utilities whose generation rates are both regulated and nonregulated. For
example, Amos generating Unit 3 is owned 2/3 by Ohio Power (nonregulated)
and
1/3 by Appalachian Power (regulated in West Virginia and nonregulated in
Virginia). At Sporn Generating Plant, generating Units 1 and 3 are owned
by
Appalachian Power (regulated in West Virginia and nonregulated in Virginia)
and
generating Units 2, 4 and 5 are owned by Ohio Power Company (nonregulated).
Retirements
from the plant accounts, net of salvage, are charged to accumulated depreciation
for nonregulated operations because AEP has continued accounting for its
nonregulated operations using the group composite method of depreciation.
AEP
believes the gr