Privacy Policy | South Texas

American Electric Power Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively "AEP") are committed to respecting your concerns about privacy. This Privacy Policy describes AEP's practices regarding the collection and use of your personal information.

Information Collected

There are many different points at which you may share personal information with us, including:

When signing up for our energy services
When making payments
When visiting our website
When subscribing to news, alerts (including SMS or IVR alerts), and other notifications
When filling out online forms
When contacting us via email, our call center or online chat functions
When you create an online account
When applying for employment with AEP, or as an employee
When working with us as a vendor or as an employee of a business partner
When interacting with AEP's Economic Development team (“AEPED”); and
Through contact with or use of a trusted third party, who may share information about you with us.

Also, we may automatically collect certain information about your use of AEP's online services and mobile apps, including your interaction with content and services available online. This information may include: your IP Address, geolocation data, operating system, browser, URLs of any pages you visit on our sites and apps, device identifiers, and other similar usage information.

In particular, AEP collects the following information:

Categories of Information	Sources of Information	Purpose of Processing
Identifiers such as real name, alias, postal address, or other similar identifiers	You (as customer or potential customer, business partner, website visitor, employee,* or applicant,* etc.)	Provide our services, communicate with you, set up and administer an account, onboard you as an employee, confirm your identity, respond to questions, and marketing, facilitate communication with our AEPED team, and collaborate on new projects.
Commercial information - Products or services purchased, obtained, or considered	You (as customer or potential customer)	Transact commerce, process transactions, marketing, detect and prevent fraud
Commercial information - Account information	You (as customer)	Transact commerce, process transactions, marketing, detect and prevent fraud
Commercial information - Property hazard data	You (as customer)	Transact commerce, process transactions, and protect our employees who may have to enter your property to service your electricity
Commercial information - Energy usage	You (as customer) through your communications with us and your power meter	Transact commerce, process transactions, marketing, detect and prevent fraud
Internet network and electronic activity device information, website usage, IP addresses, account login information, and additional traffic information	You (as a website visitor or anyone connecting with AEP electronically)	Comply with legal obligations, improve the services and products we offer and provide to you and other consumers; to comply when necessary with any governmental entity or regulator requests for information to support national infrastructure security. For more in-depth information about cookies and similar technologies we may collect, please see the Cookies and Similar Technologies Notice below.
Audio, electronic, visual, or similar information	You (as a caller to our call center or a visitor to one of our facilities)	For security and training purposes where legally permissible, we may record conversations or perform video surveillance
Inferences drawn to create a profile about a customer's preferences	Trusted marketing partners	Develop and implement marketing, education, and outreach plans to improve the services and products we provide to you and other consumers
Professional or business contact information	You (as customer or potential customer)	Administer your account or communicate with you as our customer, as noted above (i.e. provide our services, set up an account, respond to questions, and marketing) Facilitate communication with our AEPED team and collaborate on potential new projects
Professional or employment-related information	You (as employee or applicant)^*	Administer our human resources
Education information	You (as employee or applicant)^*	Administer our human resources
Sensitive Personal Information	You (as employee or applicant)^* or as a customer	Comply with applicable legal requirements. In limited circumstances and only for the purpose of providing you with certain credits available in certain settings, emergency notifications through our medical condition certification and life support programs, and to protect your health and safety. In California, AEP only uses or discloses sensitive personal information as allowed under CCPA Regulations, Section 7027.
Protected classifications under California or federal law	You (as employee or applicant)^*	Comply with applicable legal requirements

^*Please note that California employees and applicants are provided with separate privacy notices at the time of application and/or hire.

Purpose Examples

The examples below elaborate on our purposes for processing your personal information. For example, we may use your information to:

Provide news and information about AEP, including information relevant to investors;
Protect the safety of our employees and contractors;
Comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements and, where applicable, certain law enforcement requests;
Personalize your web or application experience;
Provide you an analysis of your energy usage;
Determine eligibility for products and services;
Determine compliance with program terms and conditions; and
Provide certain alerts and information when you sign up for our Demand Response Program, which provide alerts requesting voluntary reduction of energy during high demand periods. Please note that when participating in our Demand Response Program any personal information received through the Demand Response Program itself will not be shared with any third parties or affiliates and will not be used for marketing purposes.

Categories of Personal Data Disclosed, Recipients, and Purpose of the Disclosures

We disclose certain information to third parties as listed herein, such as with vendors working on our behalf, our affiliates, and government entities who are working to protect the nation's power grid.

The following table presents the categories of personal information disclosed within the last twelve (12) months, the category of third party to whom this information was disclosed, and the purpose of the disclosure:

Categories of Information Disclosed	Third Parties to Whom This Information Was Disclosed	Business or Commercial Purpose of Disclosure
Identifiers such as such as real name, alias, postal address, or other similar identifiers	Service providers performing services on behalf of AEP Service providers offering services to you Government entities under certain applicable laws	Like many businesses, AEP uses vendors who maintain our service accounts; process or fulfill orders and transactions; process payments; provide marketing or advertising services; and provide analytic, legal or insurance services As a part of providing services on behalf of AEP, our vendors may need to process your personal information (such as your email address or your payment information) in order to fulfill a service you have requested from AEP. In accordance with applicable law, we may share your information with government entities who are working to protect the nation's power grid and/or regulate the electric utility industry.
Commercial information	Service providers performing services on behalf of AEP Our affiliates Government entities under certain applicable laws	See above Note that aggregated and/or anonymized versions of this data may be provided to U.S. federal and state governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions for research purposes.
Internet network and electronic activity device information	Service providers performing services on behalf of AEP. Government entities	See above Government entities may use this information to improve the security of energy websites and resources.
Employment information that includes sensitive identifiers such as social security number or certain demographics	Government entities	Comply with applicable legal requirements relevant to employment, such as income tax, or for the protection of national security.
Protected classifications under State or Federal Law	Government entities	Comply with applicable legal requirements and only when required. Note that this information is usually disclosed in aggregate or anonymous form.

Sale or Sharing of Data

We share some of your personal information — specifically your name, contact information, and usage data — with third party vendors who provide or market additional services to you such as relocation information for those who have recently moved or energy related home warranties. If you elect to purchase their services, we may receive monetary value in those instances. Under certain state laws, this may constitute a sale. We have completed transactions such as these within the last twelve months.

AEP does not sell your information to third parties with whom we do not have a direct relationship and without your explicit consent. However, we may share your personal information for legitimate business purposes. For example, AEP may engage in certain activities such as allowing third party cookies on our websites or sharing information with our trusted partners in order to alert you to non–affiliated products that you might find of value. You may opt out of the sharing of your information in this context by filling out our online form or contacting us at 833-795-1194.

Retaining Your Personal Information

Personal information is retained only for as long as is necessary for the purposes provided in this notice or to meet other legal, regulatory, tax or accounting requirements. In determining the period of time this information may be retained we consider factors such as the sensitivity of the information, whether we have automatic controls to delete the data or a technical ability to do so, and legal, contractual, or similar obligations to retain your information when establishing criteria for the retention periods. Because these factors can vary based on the information collected and your interaction with us, actual retention periods can vary significantly.

Your Privacy Rights

Certain state privacy laws provide rights for individual consumers including those in California, Virginia, and Nebraska. AEP endeavors to honor your privacy rights depending on the state of your residency as applicable. Below you may learn how to exercise your rights and what you may expect from that process.

Rights For Virginia, California, and Nebraska Customers

Right to know and access personal information: You have the right to request that we disclose: (1) the categories of personal information we have collected about you; (2) the sources from which we collected the personal information; (3) the business or commercial purpose for the collection, selling or sharing of personal information; (4) the categories of third parties to whom we disclose personal information; (5) the categories of personal information that we sold or disclosed for a business purpose; and (6) the specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
Right to opt-out: You have the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information, the use of your personal information for targeted advertising, and the use of your personal information for profiling. If you use an opt-out preference signal following the global privacy control (GPC) specification, we will process your opt-out preference in a frictionless manner at the device level using our cookie compliance tool. You can set your browser to send these signals, but the specific settings that need to be configured depend on the specific browser you use. Some browsers may require a browser extension. To learn more about the GPC and browsers which support it, visit the global privacy control website, globalprivacycontrol.org. If you have questions about opting out or need a different way to opt-out, please contact us through our online form, at privacy@aep.com or at 833-795-1194.
Right to correct: If you find that we have inaccurate personal information about you, you have the right to request that we correct that inaccurate personal information, taking into account the nature of the personal information and the purposes of processing the personal information.
Right to delete: You have the right to request that we delete your personal information. There are some exceptions to this right. For example, because AEP is a public utility service provider, we may not be able to delete information that is necessary for us to provide you with utility service and other services that are reasonably anticipated as part of that relationship. We also may not be able to delete information necessary to comply with our legal obligations, fulfill the terms of our agreements with you, or enable internal uses that are aligned with the reasonable expectations of customers of AEP.
Right of data portability: You have the right to obtain a copy of your personal data in a portable and readily usable format that allows you to transmit the data to another controller without impediment. There are some limits to this right.
Right to non-discrimination or retaliation: We will not discriminate or retaliate against you for exercising your privacy rights.
Right to limit: We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information in a way that would require a user to exercise a "Right to Limit" under California law.

Virginia and Nebraska Right to Appeal

For customers who are residents of Virginia and Nebraska, if we decline your request, partially or fully, you may appeal the decision to our senior management. Simply follow the same process for submitting a request and include "Appeal" in the title or other part of the request. If that Appeal is denied, you may be able to contact your Attorney General's office, depending on the state in which you reside, to submit a complaint. The contact information for those Attorneys General is listed below:

Nebraska

Address: 2115 State Capitol, P.O. Box 98920, Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: 402-471-2683
Website: https://ago.nebraska.gov/contact-us

Virginia

Address: North Ninth Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219
Phone: 804-786-2071
Website: https://www.oag.state.va.us/contact-us/contact-info

Exercising your Rights

If you wish to exercise your privacy rights or have any questions or concerns about our privacy policies and information practices, please contact us through our online form, at privacy@aep.com or at 833-795-1194. To verify your request, you may need to provide proof of identity, such as non-personal information about your account. You may also designate an authorized agent to make a request. The agent will follow the same procedures described above. If you use an authorized agent, we may require proof that the agent acts on your behalf.

Only you or your authorized agent acting on your behalf may make a request to opt-out or limit. To have an authorized agent be recognized as acting on your behalf, a) verify your identity directly with AEP customer service and provide explicit written authorization signed by you permitting your agent to act on your behalf; or b) provide (or have your agent provide) legal proof of Power of Attorney, Guardianship, or Conservatorship.

Notice For Commercial Businesses In The European Union Or United Kingdom

This section solely applies in the limited context of AEP Economic Development (AEPED) team's activities towards businesses located in the Europe Union or United Kingdom.

^*The following section applies in the limited context of AEPED.^*

It is important to understand that AEPED is not established in the European Union ("EU"), does not purposefully collect non–commercial information in the EU, and performs no processing activities in the EU. Further, AEPED operates on a business–to–business model, does not offer goods and services to data subjects in the EU, and does not monitor the behavior of data subjects in the EU. The following information is for residents of the EU who may be contacted through their commercial employer by AEPED.

Controller — The controller is AEPED and the best contact method is to send an email to privacy@aep.com
Data Protection Officer (DPO) — AEPED is not legally required to have a data protection officer and thus does not have one; however, you may contact AEP's Chief Privacy Officer by sending an email to privacy@aep.com;
Purpose — The purpose of the processing of each category of personal data is stated above.
Recipients — The recipients or categories of recipients of your personal data are AEPED, our and IT hosting and service providers and, if necessary, government agencies and vendors involved with incident response procedures;
Transfer — AEPED intends to transfer your personal data to the US, where it operates. No adequacy decision and no adequate safeguards apply to these transfers. Instead, they are made on the basis of your explicit consent, as allowed by GDPR Article 49(1)(a);
Retention — Business contact information will be retained by AEPED as long as the organization represented by the data subject is a customer or potential customer of AEPED, plus three (3) years. Due to the nature of the business, long lead times are not unusual, and AEPED may use business contact information to maintain regular, periodic contact with potential customers for many years;
Automated decision-making — AEPED does not perform any automated decision making with regard to the information you provide to us;
Rights — If you are a resident of the EU, you have the right to:
- Request a copy of your personal information stored by AEPED;
- Request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information;
- Withdraw consent to the processing of your personal information;
- Request that we stop processing your personal information;
- Request that we delete your personal data; and
- Lodge a complaint with your relevant data protection authority.
Legal basis — Under certain laws, we are required to share the legal basis or business purpose for processing the personal information you share with us. We have attempted to specifically designate those legal bases or business purposes where applicable in this policy. In addition, we may also process your personal data under the following additional circumstances:
- To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations;
- To support the protection of the nation's power grid from threat actors through the monitoring of certain information;
- For the performance of our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract;
- For our legitimate business interests. Once a potential commercial relationship has been established, AEPED relies on a continuing legitimate interest in maintaining a business relationship with its commercial customer; and
- Where you have given consent for a specific use. In the event you have given your consent for a specific use, we may also have an alternative basis for processing your information for our business purposes.

Contacting Us

If you have any questions about this Policy, or about AEP's data privacy practices, please contact us at privacy@aep.com or at 833-795-1194.

Children's Privacy

We do not knowingly collect or share any information from children under the age of 16. If we learn that a child under the age of 16 has provided us with personal information, we will delete it in accordance with applicable law. If you are a parent or guardian and believe we have inadvertently collected information from your child in a manner not permitted by law, please contact us at privacy@aep.com

Cookies and Similar Technologies Notice

While we have shared certain information about our cookie practices above, we restate that information in detail here. You may exercise your privacy rights regarding cookies by using the cookie banner available when you visit our website. Cookies, and similar technologies such as web beacons and pixels, are used by AEP to help personalize your experience with us on our websites and mobile applications. A cookie is a small text file placed on your browser or device by a web server to store data that can be used to recall your device and individualize your experience. AEP uses these cookies and similar technologies to honor your browser preference settings, provide feedback and analysis on how our website and applications perform, and to provide interest–based advertising to you. Regarding the specific cookies we utilize, we use the following:

Types of Technology	Function of the Technology
Strictly necessary cookies	These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will then not work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
Performance cookies	These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous.
Functionality cookies	These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages.
Targeting or advertising cookies	These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertisements on other sites. They are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Social media cookies	These are third-party cookies that connect you directly with social media networks. These cookies are managed by your preferences on those social media platforms.
Other Third-Party Cookies	We hire some companies to provide services on behalf of AEP, who may also place cookies when you visit our website. In some instances, we may allow for that third-party to match cookies with select partners they may have to provide more information about your visit to our website.
Web beacons and pixels	We use web beacons to help deliver cookies and count users to our website. We also utilize pixels to determine, for example, whether you open our electronic communications to your email address. If you wish to opt-out of receiving emails, please follow the instructions below regarding email opt-out preferences.

Email Opt-Out Preferences

You may choose to stop receiving our marketing emails by following the unsubscribe instructions included in these emails or accessing the email preferences in your account settings page . Please note that it may take up to ten (10) business days for your opt-out request to be processed. Also, even if you opt out of marketing emails, we may continue to send you certain account-related emails, such as notices about your account and confirmations of transactions you have requested.

Third Party Links and Add–Ins

This Privacy Policy only addresses the use and disclosure of information collected by AEP through your interaction with AEP. AEP's website may link to, or embed content from, other third–party websites such as YouTube. When we link to other websites or embed their content, AEP's privacy practices no longer apply. You should refer to the privacy policy of that third party for information about their privacy policies and cookie practices.

Conflicts with Applicable Tariff or Regulations

Certain AEP subsidiaries are subject to state regulations governing the provision of retail electric service and have tariffs regulating such service on file in the jurisdictions in which service is provided. In the event of any conflict between this Privacy Policy and an applicable tariff and/or regulation, such tariff or regulation shall control.

Updates to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy was last updated December 17, 2024. We periodically update this Privacy Policy. We will post any changes on this page when updating this Privacy Policy.