NEW HAVEN — American Electric Power and Alstom Power, a global leader in the world of power generation and rail infrastructure, have recently partnered to bring the first carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project to the AEP Mountaineer Power Plant.

This event is scheduled to take place on Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 and it will be the official inauguration of the Mountaineer CCS project. Only specially invited guests are able to attend.

Melissa McHenry, a representative for AEP, said that this project can ultimately save customers money in the long run.

“This technology, if proved effectively, will allow the continuation of coal to be used which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” McHenry said. She continued to say that this could save plants from being shut down in the future and is particularly good for states, such as West Virginia, because of the dependency on coal.

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin III and Senator Jay Rockefeller, along with chief executives from AEP and Alstom Power, will participate in revealing this advanced technology that will help reduce global carbon dioxide emissions.

Michael G. Morris, CEO of AEP, and Philippe Joubert, President of Alstom Power, will be on hand to answer questions about CCS.

American Electric Power is one of the largest utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than five million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000 mile network that includes more than 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.

Alstom Power sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, and provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources. Those sources include hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind.