Indiana Michigan Power : I&M TO UPGRADE TRANSMISSION LINE IN DEKALB

AUBURN, Ind. - Indiana Michigan Power, an operating unit of American Electric Power, is announcing an approximately $17 million investment to improve the electric transmission system in DeKalb County.

The Auburn-Butler Transmission Line Rebuild Project is essential to ensure continued reliable electric service is available to customers. Plans include proactively upgrading approximately 5 miles of 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission line to 138kV; constructing approximately 4 miles of new 138 kV transmission line; replacing wood poles with steel monopoles; and installing new wire for the 138 kV lines.

The current transmission line's infrastructure has reached an age where its replacement is needed in order to better serve area customers. Improvements will reduce both the number of outages and the time needed to restore service when outages occur. Increasing the voltage will reinforce the system to meet customer demands for electricity.

To gather information from the public and affected landowners, I&M will host a public open house Wednesday, January 18, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at La Quinta Inn and Conference Center, 306 Touring Dr. in Auburn. Project representatives will be available to answer questions and obtain valuable local community input; there is no formal meeting or agenda. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Additional information about the project, including a project timeline, fact sheet and map can be found at www.IndianaMichiganPower.com/Auburn-Butler.

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Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is headquartered in Fort Wayne, and its 2,450 employees serve more than 589,000 customers. More than half of its generation is emission-free, including 2,160 MW of nuclear generation in Michigan, 450 MW of purchased wind generation from Indiana, 22 MW of hydro generation in both states and approximately 15 MW of large-scale solar generation in both states. The company's generation portfolio also includes 2,600 MW of coal-fueled generation in Indiana.

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million customers in 11 states. AEP owns the nation's largest electricity transmission system, a more than 40,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP also operates 223,000 miles of distribution lines. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning approximately 31,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP's utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.

Tracy Warner
Indiana Michigan Power Communications
[phone]
Cell: 260-479-9484
[e-mail]