A home for comfort, or an office space equipped for employee productivity - both are not possible without safe, reliable power. At Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), our priority is to provide customers with the best service possible. Service, that supports routine and everyday life.  

Reliability is a utility's ability to provide continued, uninterrupted service to customers. Why is that important? Whether owning a home or business, power you can count on is critical. Minimizing stress from disruptions supports quality of life and a sense of normalcy for customers in their day-to-day. 

"Our customers are at the center of our work, and enhancing the reliable service we provide ensures they are able to cook a meal and keep their homes comfortable with as few interruptions as possible," said Subin Mathew, I&M Director of Reliability and Grid Modernization. "The innovative upgrades we have made in the last few years, in addition to our vegetation management efforts, has significantly improved customer experience."

I&M is focused on continuously improving our robust system to be more resilient and durable. From smart technology to investing in updated infrastructure, these efforts continue to strengthen the reliable service we provide to more than 600,000 Indiana and Michigan customers. In 2024, some of this work included:

• Replacing over 1,900 power poles
• Rebuilding more than 180 miles of overhead and underground power lines
• Installing 19 Distribution Automation Circuit Reconfiguration (DACR) schemes. This technology automatically restores power in minutes to customers.

These efforts have helped to provide faster restoration times and improved storm recovery. With a system that is set up to be more durable, customers who may experience a loss of service also experience a quicker restoration time. This has significantly improved since 2019, where the average time an outage lasted improved from 220 minutes to 122 minutes in 2024. This metric, the System Average Interruption Duration Index, or SAIDI, excludes storms or other major events.

Vegetation management, or tree trimming, is also critical in ensuring reliable service. Severe weather, vehicle accidents and animals are just some reasons for an outage. Trees and other vegetation; however, often remain a top cause. One limb is enough to take out power to one home, along with hundreds more in the neighborhood. To manage these outages, our crews assess vegetation around our power lines and equipment, trimming and removing any threats to service. In 2024, our crews completed over 2,533 miles of vegetation work to help enhance reliable service for customers.

"These efforts are ongoing, and our work will continue through 2025 and beyond with vegetation assessment, installing new smart technology and upgrading our equipment," Mathew said. "The work we do will continue to significantly modernize and improve our systems, which in turn, improves the daily lives of our customers."

For more information on our reliability improvement plans, visit – www.IndianaMichiganPower.com/PoweringtheNext.