ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, February 26, 1997           TAG: 9702260104
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: B-6  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON

AEP TO BUY ENGLISH COMPANY

American Electric Power Co. Inc. plans to team with a Colorado utility to buy one of England's last independent regional electric companies.

AEP, the Columbus, Ohio, parent of the former Appalachian Power Co. and supplier of power in Western Virginia, and Denver-based Public Service Co. of Colorado plan to invest $360 million each and jointly borrow $1.7 billion to buy Yorkshire Electricity Group Plc. of London.

Britain privatized electric utilities in 1990, creating 12 regional companies, six of which are U.S.-owned and four of which are owned by companies in the U.K.

AEP said it pursued the deal to take part in the coming competition among electric companies. Britain is on a course to give consumers a choice of electric companies by April 1998.

LENGTH: Short :   25 lines