Indiana Michigan Power Receives Order in Michigan’s Powering Our Future Plan

Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), an American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) company, has received the Michigan Public Service Commission's (MPSC) recent order regarding the Powering Our Future plan. The plan outlines I&M's continued commitment to providing our customers with reliable, safe and affordable service now and in the years to come.

Under the order, a rate amount of $17.3 million was approved by the MPSC. Revised rates based on the order will go into effect July 15, 2024. For residential customers using 500 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month this will represent a rate increase of 4.13%. The rate change for other customer classes will be based on the tariff they take for service. I&M's last base rate increase in Michigan came in January 2020.

"I&M is committed to providing our customers with reliable, safe and affordable service now and in years to come," said Steve Baker, I&M president and chief operation officer. "Our goal is to provide an exceptional customer experience as we work to create grid resiliency and prepare for the demand of our growing communities."

Infrastructure and Reliability

To support I&M's ongoing work to enhance reliability and make the power system more resilient during weather events, updates to infrastructure are necessary to power customer homes and businesses.

Approved as part of the Powering Our Future plan, I&M will invest in infrastructure updates necessary to reliably deliver energy to customers' homes and businesses while also preparing I&M for the grid of the future.

I&M will prioritize infrastructure replacements including designated poles, wires and other equipment that have reached the end of their expected life spans. Through our pole replacement program, I&M will target replacement of over 400 poles in a year. I&M also looks to rebuild lines, around 50 miles per year, and relocate off-road distribution lines, making them closer to main roads to expediate restoration times.

Further investments include attention to grid modernization technology such as Distribution Automation Circuit Reconfiguration (DACR), commonly referred to as "self-healing" technology, which will help minimize outage durations for customers.

Additional efforts to increase reliability include acceleration of I&M's tree-trimming program to trim vegetation near overhead power lines every four years instead of the current five-year cycle. Trees and other brush are the leading cause of power outages for I&M customers. Current vegetation management efforts have resulted in a 29% reduction in tree-related outages since 2021.

I&M's continued commitment to improving reliability is yielding benefits for customers. The number of total minutes customers were without power dropped by 25% (excluding major storms) over the past five years.

The order also provides I&M approval of critical capital investments to maintain our existing power plants and renewable projects that are critical to I&M's transition to cleaner energy resources. This transition to additional cleaner energy sources supports I&M's and AEP's target of achieving net zero carbon dioxide emission by 2045.

Cook Nuclear Plant

I&M has been approved to take the initial step in determining whether to seek approval for a 20-year license extension of the Cook Nuclear Plant, which is capable of powering more than 1.5 million average homes annually. Its two units that separately generate power 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 requires significant and lengthy advance work. This includes inspections of the plant, environmental reviews, assessment of nearly 250,000 plant components and public participation.

Additional Details

The MPSC's order directed I&M to make separate filings to address customer-owned generation, or Distributed Generation (DG), and a Transportation Electrification Plan, targeting the transition to electric vehicles for personal and public use. I&M understands the importance of both programs for our customers and plans to file both plans with the commission later this year.

For more information on I&M's Powering Our Future Plan, visit www.IndianaMichiganPower.com/PoweringOurFuture-MI.

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