CPV Completes Pre-Construction Phase of Florida Project.

Business Editors/Energy Writers

SILVER SPRING, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 2001

CPV Sells Interest to Orion Power; AEP Pro Serv to

Construct the Facility

Competitive Power Ventures Holdings, LLC, a power development company, announced today that on October 12, 2001, it released construction of the CPV Atlantic Project.

It then completed its sale of the Project to Orion Power Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ORN). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The CPV Atlantic Project is a 250 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle electric generating facility located in the LTC Ranch Industrial Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Competitive Power Ventures is a power development company focusing on high efficiency, environmentally desirable power projects throughout the United States. Its activities are supported by a capital commitment from Warburg Pincus, one of the world's premier private equity investors.

Douglas Egan, president and chief executive officer of CPV, said, "This project is designed to be one of the lowest emitting power generating facilities in Florida. We are pleased to complete the project's sale to Orion Power, a company we believe shares CPV's commitment to sound environmental stewardship."

CPV has completed the two-year pre-construction phase, including the permitting process. The project has signed an electrical interconnection agreement with Florida Power and Light and a natural gas pipeline interconnection agreement with the Gulfstream Natural Gas System now under construction.

The project will be constructed by AEP Pro Serv, Inc., under a fixed-price turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contract. Construction of the new plant will take approximately two years to complete. Commercial operation of the facility is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2004.

Peter J. Podurgiel, CPV vice president who managed the development of the CPV Atlantic Project, said, "AEP Pro Serv has a proven record for staying on schedule, and we are pleased to see the project enter construction to help meet Florida's growing energy needs."

AEP Pro Serv, a non-regulated affiliate of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), provides its clients with a full array of project management, environmental, engineering, construction, operations, technical services and maintenance expertise. The firm has offices in Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas and South Portland, Maine. The detailed design and equipment procurement services for this contract will be performed in AEP Pro Serv's South Portland office.

"We're extremely pleased to have been selected to manage this project," said John R. Jones, president of AEP Pro Serv. "We're confident that our experience and ability in power plant project management and construction will help the owner achieve its long-term business goals."

About the companies

Competitive Power Ventures, based in Silver Spring, Md., is a power development company focusing on high efficiency, environmentally desirable power projects throughout the United States. CPV has approximately 12 projects under development with a total capacity of approximately 6,000 megawatts in the United States. A majority interest in CPV is held by Warburg Pincus. For more information about Competitive Power Ventures, visit its web site at www.competitivepowerventures.com.

Orion Power Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ORN), headquartered in Baltimore, is a fast-growing independent electric power generating company formed in March 1998 to acquire, develop, own and operate power-generating facilities in the newly deregulated wholesale markets throughout North America. Since its inception, Orion Power Holdings has invested over $4 billion in 81 power plants currently in operation with a total capacity of 5,926 megawatts and an additional 5,000 megawatts in construction and various stages of development. For more information about Orion Power, visit its web site at www.orionpower.com.

American Electric Power is a multinational energy company based in Columbus, Ohio. AEP owns and operates more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity, making it America's largest generator of electricity. The company is also a leading wholesale energy marketer and trader, ranking second in the U.S. in electricity volume with a growing presence in natural gas. AEP provides retail electricity to more than 7 million customers worldwide and has holdings in the U.S. and select international markets. Wholly owned subsidiaries are involved in power engineering and construction services, energy management and telecommunications. Additional information on AEP can be found on the World Wide Web at: www.aep.com.

Since 1971, Warburg Pincus has invested approximately $12 billion in 450 companies in 29 countries. The firm currently has $10 billion under management, with an additional $5 billion available for investment in a range of industries including: business services, communications, financial services, healthcare and life sciences, information technology, media and natural resources/energy. Warburg Pincus has invested more than $700 million in 14 companies involved in oil and gas exploration and production, energy, services and power projects. The firm actively invests in companies focused on developing energy infrastructure, including new power plants, pipelines, gas storage facilities and companies that are developing innovative technologies including distributed generation, microturbines, fuel cells and software. More information about Warburg Pincus is available at www.warburgpincus.com.