Indiana Michigan Power : I&M TO UPGRADE TRANSMISSION LINE IN SOUTH BEND AREA

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Indiana Michigan Power, an operating unit of American Electric Power, is announcing a $20 million investment in the electric transmission system in the South Bend area.

The Gravel Pit Substation and Transmission Line Upgrades project consists of adding 6 miles of 138 kilovolt (kV) line, expanding and modernizing the Gravel Pit Substation southwest of South Bend and retiring about 2 miles of aging 34.5 kV line.

Local residents are invited to learn more about the Gravel Pit project at a come-and-go open house on Thursday, January 19, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Comfort Inn, located at 60971 U.S. 31 South in South Bend. Attendees can arrive at any time to review maps speak with company representatives and provide input regarding route selection.

Additional information is also available on the project website at www.IndianaMichiganPower.com/GravelPit

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.

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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]