| The power company is anteing up after ripping off consumers.
American Electric Power has agreed to pay federal regulators $81 million dollars to settle a lawsuit into its natural gas pricing.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued the Columbus, Ohio-based company in 2003.
The lawsuit alleges that AEP traders manipulated gas prices from 2000 to 2002, earning the company more than $63-and-a-half million dollars.
The settlement also ends investigations by the U. S. Justice Department and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
AEP is the largest generator of electricity in the United States, with more than five million customers in eleven states, including West Virginia.
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