Akins discusses economy, renewables on ‘Mad Money’ program

Nick Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer, discussed the economy across the company’s service territory, the continued push against coal and for renewables and more Oct. 22 during a segment of CNBC-TV’s “Mad Money w/Jim Cramer”program.

Cramer noted that in its quarterly earnings report, AEP reported growth in virtually all 11 of its states, including Texas where shale gas and oil-drilling activities should be pulling back due to a current glut in supplies.

AEP CEO Nick Akins appeared on CNBC-TV’s “Mad Money w/Jim Cramer” program Oct. 22.

“We’re seeing electric load pick up because of the shale gas activity,” Akins said. “Those counties are still growing at 10 percent, so it’s working out great for us.” He also noted that for the first time in a long time, AEP’s eastern service territory grew even more than the company’s western service territory. “That’s really driven by the jobs and the new economy,” he said, “not only chemical manufacturing, but auto manufacturing growth continues to occur, as well.”

Cramer also noted that he recently spoke to Dow Chemical, and they said they are planning on possibly building over 400 new plants across the region.

“If there are exports and those kinds of things that drive that kind of economy, we’ll continue to see petroleum and other types of activities pick up, as well,” Akins said. “From a chemical manufacturing standpoint, those continue to do well. We’re still seeing siting of new facilities, so if that continues, we’ll see an energy renaissance and a manufacturing renaissance to boot.”

As the country continues to move away from coal-fired generation and toward natural gas, Cramer wondered if the infrastructure is there to build new gas plants.

“I think the infrastructure does need to get built out,” Akins answered. “In fact, as we make a transition from coal-fired facilities that are being retired, the fuel of choice will be natural gas and renewables like wind and solar. So if you depend upon natural gas in the heat of the summer or the cold of the winter, you’ve got to make sure those resources are there, and the pipeline infrastructure needs to be present.”

Concerning the move against fossil fuels, Cramer asked, “Can you please explain to the American people that you can’t use solar and wind as a baseline fuel in this country?”

“Both of those supplies are intermittent supplies. In other words, when the sun’s out, you get power and energy, but when it’s dark, you don’t. When the wind is blowing, you get energy, but when it’s not blowing, you don’t. That’s why you need to have baseload fossil fuel capacity 24/7 to back it up,” Akins explained. “The customer decides when they want to turn their light switch on at any part of the day, run their washers, dryers and so forth, and you’ve got to make sure you are able to satisfy the demand. You also have to be able to satisfy those areas where you need motor load, like air conditioning and that sort of thing, and solar and wind won’t supply that.”