FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) has issued its ruling on new base rates for Indiana Michigan Power (I&M).
The IURC authorized I&M to adjust its rates by about $84 million, or a 5.7% overall increase.
The amount the IURC approved is about 48% of I&M’s original request. If applied to residential rates, it would result in an increase of approximately $10 for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours of energy per month. The precise amount will be dependent on a customer’s specific account details and other factors that are being calculated following the Wednesday rate decision.
New rates will be phased-in over two steps, with the first occurring later in March, and the second in early 2021.
As a result of the IURC action, I&M plans to offer incentives to expand electric vehicle charging, supporting the electric grid and benefitting all customers. The IM Plugged In program will offer rebates and special rates for charging electric cars overnight along with incentives for businesses and fleet vehicles.
The new rates include a change in the monthly residential service charge to adjust rates to more accurately reflect the true cost of service provided to each customer. Though most of a customer’s bill is based on the volume of electricity used, most of the actual costs are for infrastructure such as poles, wires, transformers, substations and much more. Those costs do not vary with consumption. I&M’s monthly service charge for residential customers will be $15. This service charge is included in – not an addition to – the new rates.
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Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is headquartered in Fort Wayne, and its 2,370 employees serve more than 597,000 customers. More than half of its generation is emission-free, including 2,278 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 2,620 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 more than 17,000 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 219,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 32,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including 4,300 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 and east Texas). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Brian Bergsma
Director of Communications and State Government Affairs
Indiana Michigan Power
(317) 670-3561
bebergsma@aep.com
Tracy Warner
Corporate Communications Manager
Indiana Michigan Power Communications
(260) 408-3420
tkwarner@aep.com