ELKHART, Ind. – Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) will begin raising the water level upstream of the Elkhart Hydroelectric Plant starting Monday, March 15.

The reservoir was lowered two feet last December (December 2020) to reduce ice buildup and upstream flooding. The reservoir will slowly be raised about six inches per day over a three-to-four-day period to its normal spring and summer time operating level.

“We encourage residents who live along the St. Joseph River, within eight miles upstream of the Elkhart generating station, to be aware of the change occurring,” said Richard Walag, I&M Hydroelectric maintenance supervisor. “We want residents to be prepared in case they have work they would like to finish along the riverbank before the level rises.”

The Elkhart hydroelectric facility, has been owned and operated by I&M since 1913. It is one of six run-of-river hydroelectric plants on the St. Joseph River. I&M operates the Elkhart Hydroelectric Generating Station in accordance with its license issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

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Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is headquartered in Fort Wayne, and its approximately 2,100 employees serve more than 599,000 customers. More than two-thirds of its energy delivered in 2019 was emission-free.  I&M has at its availability various sources of generation including 2,278 MW of nuclear generation in Michigan, 450 MW of purchased wind generation from Indiana, more than 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 2,620 MW of coal-fueled generation in Indiana.

American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to our customers. AEP’s approximately 17,400 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 221,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.5 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with more than 30,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including approximately 5,300 megawatts of renewable energy. AEP’s family of companies includes utilities 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, east Texas and the Texas Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners, and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide. For more information, visit aep.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Schnee’ Garrett

Indiana Michigan Power

Communications Representative

(574) 283-1852

smgarrett@aep.com