Powering Our Future in Indiana

Infrastructure and Reliability

Powering Our Future is key to our ongoing efforts to address aging infrastructure, enhance reliability and make the system more resilient to weather events. In 2023–2024, we propose investing nearly $550 million in the infrastructure necessary to more reliably move electricity from power plants to our customers' homes and businesses and prepare for the grid of the future.

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With a growing number of poles, wires and other equipment reaching the end of their expected life spans, we are systematically prioritizing infrastructure replacements and incorporating new technologies to improve the system. For example, with Powering Our Future, we will replace more than 2,800 aging poles and 240 miles of wire.

Our continued commitment to improve reliability is shown in the statistics. The number of total minutes customers were without power dropped by 31% over the past five years. Much of that progress was due to a 30% reduction in outages caused by trees – and a significant cause of I&M power outages.

We continue to increase the use of smart technology to detect outages and automatically route electricity around damage to restore service more quickly to a larger number of customers.

Our approach is a thoughtful, reasoned, flexible process to complete the right projects at a reasonable cost to ensure reliable service.

New Payment Option

We are proposing PowerPay, a voluntary payment option that allows customers to pre-pay their electric bills, much like pre-paid cell phones. PowerPay offers customers a choice of when and how to pay their electric bills, providing the opportunity to make payments that are more in line with their cash flow.

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PowerPay would help customers avoid larger-than-expected bills by receiving daily updates on usage and related costs. With no deposits, reconnection or late fees, PowerPay would help remove barriers for new customers to make deposits and help reduce account balances.

The program is voluntary, and customers who prefer standard monthly billing would not have to change how they pay their bills.

Cook Nuclear Plant

The plant, located in Bridgman, Mich., plays a key role in meeting our customers' energy needs. Cook Nuclear Plant has two units that separately generate power and are licensed through 2034 and 2037, respectively. Though those dates are over a decade away, the process for extending the license of a nuclear plant is lengthy and requires much advance work.

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To make the best decision on how to move forward, we propose to begin the process in 2024 to study whether to apply for an extension. In our Powering Our Future plan, we are seeking regulatory approval for the study, but most of its costs will be deferred and not included in this rate review.

Customer Information System

We serve about 482,000 Hoosier homes and businesses over 3,200 square miles. As the needs of our customers change, modernization of the technology they interact with is essential.

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The Powering Our Future plan includes a new customer information system. The new system will enable us to meet customers' expectations by providing a modern platform to communicate through texts, e-mail, smart-phone apps and the company's website.

This system will allow us to offer customers additional programs and position us to serve its customers as new technologies and customer expectations continue to evolve.

Broadband

More than 60% of residents in both Delaware and Grant counties lack access to high-speed internet. We propose to offer infrastructure that could greatly expand internet service by building 252 miles of fiber optic cable and utilizing 465 miles of existing fiber cable.

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We have applied for a federal grant and received initial approvals to leverage our investments in providing reliable electric service to provide a “middle-mile” connection that local internet service providers will be able to use to connect individual customers to the Web. This opportunity to attract federal grant funds into our service area to support connectivity for our customers will not only improve the quality of life for residential customers but will benefit schools, universities and health care providers in the region.

Service Charge

Powering Our Future proposes to adjust the customer service charge to more accurately reflect the true cost of service provided to each customer. The costs of poles, wires, transformers and other infrastructure do not change based on the amount of energy used, yet most of a customer's bill is based on their volume of electricity.

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We are requesting a change in the residential customer service charge, from $14.79 to $17.50, to better reflect the fixed cost associated with connecting a customer to the system. The proposed increase is included in – and not in addition to – the proposed new rates.

What's Next

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission will review our plans using a transparent process that offers opportunity for public review and input. Typically, that includes public hearings that offer customers the opportunity to voice their opinions.