Reliable energy is critical for everything from working and going to school to keeping warm in the winter months. We take our responsibility as your energy provider seriously, and we are continuously working to make our system smarter, stronger and more resilient to better serve you. In 2023, those investments resulted in improved service for you.
In the past five years, we have reduced the average time a customer is without service by 43%, dropping from 220 minutes to 121 minutes. That means over the entire year of 2023, the average customer experienced about 2 hours without power. Not only is the total outage time down, but the number of outages has also fallen dramatically. In 2019, there were an average of 1.3 power outages per customer. In 2023, I&M brought that number down to 0.8.
"Our investments are paying off for our customers, resulting in fewer outages, faster restorations and storm recovery and enhanced reliability," said Dave Isaacson, vice president of Distribution Region Operations. "I'm proud of our dedicated employees who continue to work safely and efficiently to ensure our customers can cook dinner, keep their homes warm and cool and enjoy all the benefits of electricity with as few interruptions as possible."
Key efforts to improving reliability include replacing and upgrading outdated equipment, installing innovative technologies and inspecting and tree trimming thousands of miles of power lines.
In 2023, here is just a fraction of the work our dedicated workforce completed:
- Replaced more than 750 power poles
- Rebuilt more than 180 miles of overhead and underground power lines
- Inspected and tree trimmed more than 2,000 miles of power lines to proactively prevent power outages
- Installed nine Distribution Automation Circuit Reconfiguration (DACR) schemes, which will automatically restore power in minutes to customers
We will continue to strengthen the local electrical system, delivering increased value and reliability to our more than 600,000 Indiana and Michigan customers.
"Our work is not done," Isaacson said. "You'll see I&M employees and our vehicles in your neighborhood upgrading power lines and poles and installing new smart equipment in 2024. We are determined to constantly improve our electrical system to enhance your day-to-day lives."
For more information on our reliability improvement plans, visit – www.IndianaMichiganPower.com/PoweringtheNext.