Former AEP SVP Gregory Vassell Passes Away

Gregory Vassell

Gregory Vassell, 94, former AEP senior vice president of System Planning, died Nov. 3.

A native of Russia, Vassell joined the AEP System in 1951 as an assistant engineer. He was always interested in the theoretical side of power engineering and found a home in System Planning. He moved through the engineering ranks in the 1950s and 60s, and was elected assistant vice president in 1968, vice president-system planning in 1973, and senior vice president in 1976.

Vassell promoted development of AEP’s extra-high voltage transmission system, including the 765-kV network, now the nation’s largest. His analysis of the causes of the 1965 blackout led to his participation in the founding of the East Central Area Reliability Coordination Agreement.

The AEP executive was named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a member of the CIGRE (International Council on Large Electric Systems) and an alternate representative on the U.S. national committee for the World Energy Conference. In 1980, he was elected a member of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering for his contributions in the field of electric energy. He retired from the company Dec. 31, 1987.

For his many contributions in transmission engineering, AEP named a 765/345/138-kilovolt (kV) “super” station in Sunbury, Ohio, after him.

A memorial service will be held for Vassell Nov. 20 in Dublin, Ohio. View the attachment for more information and directions.

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