AEPAmerican Electric Power Company, Inc.

American Electric Power is a regulated utility across eleven states with the country's largest transmission network.

Regulated utility mechanics: the state commission allows investment into the rate base and an established return on it. Profit grows with investment rather than with electricity volumes, so the capital programme is the growth plan.

The company's distinction is its transmission share: those assets are federally regulated and yield more predictable returns than distribution, which depends on a particular state's decisions. Operating in eleven jurisdictions at once lowers the risk of one adverse rate ruling.

A new demand factor is data centres in Ohio and Texas requiring connections of unprecedented capacity. Risks: debt costs, regulatory decisions and weather events. The company pays a high dividend with a long payment history.