American Electric Power
What do our scores mean?
The organizational score represents the degree to which the organization influencing climate policy and legislation. Corporations also have relationship scores reflecting their links with influencers like trade associations. Both are combined to place the corporation in a performance band. Full details can be found here.
Engagement Intensity
The engagement intensity (EI) is a metric of the extent to which the company is engaging on climate change policy matters, whether positively or negatively. It is a number from 0 (no engagement at all) to 100 (full engagement on all queries/data points). Clearly energy companies are more affected by climate regulations and will have a higher EI than, for example retailers. So an organization’s score should be looked at in conjunction with this metric to gauge the amount of evidence we are using in each case as a basis for scoring. On our scale, an EI of more than 35 indicates a relatively large amount of climate policy engagement.
Relationship Score, December 2020
A new batch of industry associations has been uploaded onto the InfluenceMap system and the relationship scores recalculated accordingly.
- Details of Organization Score
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What do the 0,1,2 and NSs, NAs mean?
Each cell in the organization's matrix presents a chance for us to assess each data source against our column of climate change policy queries. We score from -2 to 2, with negative scores representing evidence of obstructive influence. "NA" means "not applicable" and "NS" means "not scored" - that is we did not find any evidence either way. In both cases, the cell's weighting is re-distributed over others. Red and blue cells represent highly interesting negative or positive influence respectively. Full details can be found here.
- Details of Relationship Score
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What is the Relationship Score
A corporation, as well as its organizational score will have a relationship score. It is computed by aggregating the organizational scores of the Influencers (trade bodies etc.) it has relationships with, weighted by both the strength of these relationships and the relative importance of the Influencers towards climate change policy. Full details can be found here.
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QUERIES
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DATA SOURCES | |||||||
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Main Web Site
The main organizational Web site of the company and its direct links to major affiliates and attached documents. |
Social Media
We search other media and sites funded or controlled by the organization, such as social media (Twitter, Facebook) and direct advertising campaigns of the organization. |
CDP Responses
We assess and score responses to two questions from CDP's climate change information request (12.3 a & 12.3c) related to political influence questions (currently these are not numerically scored by the CDP process). |
Legislative Consultations
Comments from the entity being scored on governmental regulatory consultation processes, including those obtained by InfluenceMap through Freedom of Information requests. |
Media Reports
Here we search in a consistent manner (the organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
CEO Messaging
Here we search in a consistent manner (the CEO/Chairman, organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
Financial Disclosures
We search 10-K and 20-F SEC filings where available, and non US equivalents where not. . |
EU Register
Information provided by to the voluntary EU Transparency Register. |
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Climate Science Transparency
Is the organisation being transparent about climate change science? |
NS | NS | NS | NS |
1
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NS |
1
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NA |
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Climate Science Stance
Is the organization supporting the science of climate change and the response demanded (as per the IPCC) |
0
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0
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NA | NS | NS |
-1
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NS | NA |
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Need for Climate Regulation
To what extent does the organization express the need for climate policy and regulations in general. |
-1
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NS | NS | NS | NS |
0
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NS | NA |
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UN Treaty Support
Is the organization supporting a global treaty on climate change and the UN FCCC process? |
0
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0
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NS | NS |
1
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0
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NS | NA |
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Transparency on Legislation
Is the organisation being transparent about their positions on climate change legislation and policy, including CEO statements. |
1
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NA |
0
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NA | NA | NA | NS | NA |
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Carbon Tax
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: carbon tax. |
NS | NS |
-2
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NS |
-1
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NS | NS | NA |
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Emissions Trading
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: emissions trading. |
NS | NS |
1
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-1
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0
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1
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NS | NA |
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Energy Efficiency Standards
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Energy efficiency standards and targets |
0
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NS |
0
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-2
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0
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NS | NS | NA |
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Renewable Energy Legislation
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Renewable energy targets, subsidies and legislation. |
0
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NS |
0
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-2
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-1
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-1
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NS | NA |
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Energy Policy and Mix
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: energy policy and the energy mix. We refer to IPCC thinking on renewables, coal, oil and gas. |
1
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0
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0
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-1
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0
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1
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1
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NA |
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GHG Emission Standards
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: GHG emission standards and targets. |
0
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-2
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NS |
-1
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0
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0
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0
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NA |
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Disclosure on Relationships
The Caring for Climate “inventory” of climate change policy influences: Are companies being transparent about their business associations which may impact climate debate and policy |
0
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NA |
1
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NA | NA | NA | NS | NA |
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Senior Executive of American Electric Power is a board Member of NAM
Charles R. Patton
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Senior Executive of American Electric Power is a board Member of NAM
Charles R. Patton
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Senior Executive of American Electric Power is a board Member of NAM
Charles R. Patton
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Senior Executive of American Electric Power is a board Member of NAM
Charles R. Patton
Open PDF file of Data Source
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO of AEP is no longer committee leader but still a member of Business Roundtable
Nicholas K. Atkins
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO of American Electric Power is committee leader of the Energy and Environment Committee of Business Roundtable
Nicholas K. Atkins
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO of AEP is no longer committee leader but still a member of Business Roundtable
Nicholas K. Atkins
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO of American Electric Power is committee leader of the Energy and Environment Committee of Business Roundtable
Nicholas K. Atkins
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
AEP is a board member of IETA
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
American Electric Power is a member of IETA
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
AEP is a board member of IETA
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
American Electric Power is a member of IETA
How to Read our Relationship Score Map
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
American Electric Power is generally lobbying against US policy on climate change. The utility has emphasized affordability concerns in the regulatory response to the climate crisis and demonstrates contradictory positions on a number of policies.
American Electric Power strongly opposed the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP), specifically criticizing the proposed energy efficiency and renewable portfolio standards. It criticized the plan as "unlawful" in a 2014 consultation, launched a website stoking opposition to it in 2015, and supported legal action against it through the Utility Air Regulatory Group in 2016. In 2015, the CEO of American Electric Power publicly supported the policy as a “catalyst” for transformation in the energy sector, and in 2016, the utility left the American Legislative Exchange Council in an apparent move to support states' efforts around the CPP. Yet in contrast to its public communications, American Electric Power advocated for the repeal of the CPP in 2018 and, shortly after, supported its replacement with the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy rule.
American Electric Power stated opposition to emissions trading in 2016. In 2019, it noted a preference for emissions trading rather than a carbon tax. American Electric Power appears opposed to distributed solar legislation with CEO messaging from 2016 stressing the costs of net meting policies. The utility appears to generally support a clean energy transition, particularly given the falling costs of alternative technologies, but as recently as 2017 lobbied policymakers to support subsidies for coal. In 2019, American Electric Power backed legislation in Ohio to bail out struggling coal plants and boost nuclear while rolling back the state’s energy efficiency and renewable energy targets.
American Electric Power left the American Legislative Exchange Council in 2016 and America’s Power in 2019. However, it remains a member of the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable, two organizations actively opposing US climate policy.