In the early 1900s, southern West Virginia was booming. Half a million workers mined coal beneath the region’s rolling mountains, fueling the trains, factories and electrification that built America.
Yet many of the communities producing that coal had no electricity of their own. In 1910, a small group of entrepreneurs came together to change that. The newly formed Appalachian Power Company (APCo) set out to build two hydroelectric dams on the New River and a high-voltage transmission line. Within two years, APCo was supplying power to 67 coal camps across western Virginia and southern West Virginia.
We consider 1926 to be APCo’s official birth year, when it joined our parent company, American Electric Power (AEP). Still, APCo’s story truly begins with that earlier, visionary commitment to bring electricity to underserved Appalachian communities.
That commitment continued throughout the 20th century as line crews expanded transmission infrastructure across southern West Virginia. Sleeping in tents and eating from mobile kitchens, workers labored tirelessly to electrify the region. When hills proved too steep, oxen hauled steel to the mountaintops. Tower foundations were often dug by hand with picks and shovels. By 1949, electricity was available in 21 counties across southern West Virginia.
As the region’s economy and population grew, APCo expanded its generating capacity by constructing several coal-fired power plants — an evolution that flipped its original purpose. APCo was founded to bring electricity to the coal fields; over time, the coal fields began sending electricity to the rest of the country.
Today APCo’s total generating capacity is 8,750 megawatts (MW), which includes more than 1,000 MW from renewable sources such as solar, hydropower and wind.
Throughout the past 100 years, the system has grown to more than 61,300 miles of power lines. Since 1950, the number of counties served has nearly tripled, and today APCo provides electricity to approximately 1.1 million customers in Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Our commitment to a safe, reliable grid extends beyond delivering power; we also invest in the communities we serve, supporting initiatives focused on food security, disaster relief, emergency services, housing and education. Last year alone, employees volunteered nearly 6,000 hours while our shareholder-funded Foundation contributed more than $2.4 million to organizations doing incredible work across the 57 counties we serve.
All of this is driven by our deep commitment to the beautiful region we call home, and we’re excited to see what possibilities we will power in the next 100 years.