This report does not constitute a rating action. What's new: Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power Co. Inc. (AEP) recently announced a $22 billion increase in its five-year capital spending plan to accommodate its substantial incremental contracted load from large-load customers and improve overall grid reliability. In total, S&P Global Ratings now expects AEP will spend $100 billion in 2027-2031 to help serve 84 gigawatts (GW) of contracted load. To fund this capital spending, the company expects to issue an incremental $5.2 billion of equity during the same period, while funding the remainder with incremental net debt. AEP anticipates that its residential customer bills for vertically integrated utilities will benefit from an estimated $21 billion reduction in fixed cost offsets over
