Indiana Regulator Approves $95 Million Rate Decrease for Indiana Michigan Power

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on Feb. 23 approved a rate settlement agreement that will decrease the annual revenues of Indiana Michigan Power Company by 5.9 percent or $94.7 million. This will occur over two phases with the first phase effective immediately. The second phase will take effect in January 2023.

The order represents a nearly $200 million drop from the utility’s original request, which proposed a $104 million surge. As per the settlement, the utility agreed to eliminate from its base rates the revenue requirement of about $141 million of Rockport Unit 2 costs at the time new base rates are applied. The coal-fired Rockport plant has two units, each capable of generating up to 1,300 megawatts of energy.

In Phase 1, residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours will see their monthly bills decrease by $1.48, and in Phase 2, they will see an additional $7.95 reduction. Residential customers will still be charged $15, not $20 as originally proposed by the utility. Within the next 30 days, the utility will file its new customer tariffs with the Commission and determine specific rates for customers.

The rate agreement preserves the utility’s plans to enhance reliability by investing more than $350 million to strengthen the electric grid. The company plans to upgrade and replace aging infrastructure, and add technology to lower the frequency and duration of power outages. Plans for Indiana include the replacement of over 2,500 poles and 120 miles of power lines, as well as inspection and maintenance of trees and vegetation – the main cause of outages –  along 4,000 line miles.

In addition, the utility plans to transition all Michigan meters to smart meters by the end of 2022 and all Indiana meters by mid-2024. Advanced metering infrastructure enables detection of any issues or outages on the system, so as to respond in a more efficient manner. In addition, smart meters enable customers to have better control over their energy usage and facilitate remote connection/disconnect of power in a few hours or less.

Other technology additions include “self-healing” grid technology that enables quick detection of outages and potential safety risks, swift response and automatic re-routing of electricity to customers.

Indiana Michigan Power is a subsidiary of American Electric Power.