Despite one of the coolest summers in 30 years resulting in reduced electric power demand, the parent company of Southwestern Electric Power reported a third quarter earnings increase of 18 percent last week.

Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power said Thursday that its third-quarter earnings rose on rate increases throughout its service area, and cost cutting offset continued weak demand for electricity from industrial customers.

AEP is the parent company of Southwestern Electric Power, a subsidiary that serves Marshall and other East Texas cities. It also operates several power generation plants in East Texas.

AEP said that even with electricity sales to industrial customers down 17 percent in the quarter, that is a slight improvement from the second quarter when sales to industrial customers were down 20 percent. The company also said sales of several large metal customers increased from the second to third quarter.

"We hope that's a sign of better things to come, but we don't see it as a cause for celebration yet," Mike Morris, AEP's chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

AEP's service area spreads south from Ohio, Indiana and Michigan to Oklahoma and Texas and is more industrialized and export oriented than other parts of the country, so the global recession was more severe on those states than other parts of the U.S., he said. "The economy will improve, but it's going to take some time," Morris said. "Fortunately, the export market may recover more rapidly. Until then, we will continue to keep tight control on our spending."

AEP said it made $443 million, or 93 cents a share, for the quarter ending Sept. 30, compared with $374 million, or 93 cents a share in the quarter a year ago. The company had more shares outstanding in the third quarter than it did a year ago.

The increase in profit came even as revenue fell from $4.2 billion to $3.5 billion for the quarter.

Demand also was hurt by the mild summer. AEP said it was the coolest summer in 30 years for the eastern states it serves and the fourth coolest in 30 years for its customers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and northeast Texas.

Residential demand for electricity was flat during the quarter, while commercial demand was down slightly. Sales into wholesale markets were off 37 percent because of weak demand from the economy along with mild weather in the East.

AEP is one of the nation's largest power companies, serving 5.2 million customers in 11 states.