Those living in 11 Southern Indiana counties may hear and see a helicopter with a saw attached to it in the sky as Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) works in partnership with its parent company American Electric Power (AEP) to strengthen reliability.
I&M manages nearly 25,000 miles of power lines across Indiana and Michigan. This includes high-voltage power lines that carry electricity across the country which are in Southern Indiana. AEP Transmission's forestry specialists will work alongside those high-voltage power lines using a 33-foot aerial saw suspended from a helicopter to maintain trees and other brush safely and efficiently in hard-to-reach areas to proactively prevent tree-related outages, especially during storms.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Aerial trimming process will begin today and continue intermittently through Saturday, September 19, weather permitting.
- Trimming will take place Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Work will occur in the following counties: Daviess, Dubois, Fountain, Knox, Pike, Spencer, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Vermillion, Vigo and Warren.
- Rotor Blade will operate the helicopter with a tail number of N7079K.
- Residents are asked to keep a safe distance from work areas. Forestry specialists will assess hazards before trimming and will manage debris afterward.
I&M and AEP are committed to balancing the importance of trees with the equally important need to deliver safe and reliable electricity. For more information and I&M's reliability efforts, please visit IndianaMichiganPower.com/Forestry.
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La sede de Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) se encuentra en Fort Wayne, y sus, aproximadamente, 2,000 empleados prestan servicios a más de 600,000 clientes. Más del 85% de la energía eléctrica que proporcionó en 2024 fue libre de emisiones. I&M tiene a su disposición diversas fuentes de generación, lo que incluye 2,278 MW de generación de energía nuclear en Michigan, 450 MW de generación de energía eólica comprada de Indiana, más de 22 MW de generación de energía hidráulica en los dos estados y, aproximadamente, 35 MW de generación de energía solar a gran escala en los dos estados. The company's generation portfolio also includes 1,497 MW of coal-fueled generation.
American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) is committed to improving our customers' lives with reliable, affordable power. We plan to invest $78 billion from 2026 through 2030 to enhance service for customers and support the growing energy needs of our communities. Our nearly 18,000 employees operate and maintain the nation's largest electric transmission system with 40,000 line miles, along with more than 252,000 miles of distribution lines to deliver energy to 5.6 million customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation's largest electricity producers with approximately 32,000 megawatts of diverse owned and contracted generating capacity. We are focused on safety and operational excellence, creating value for our stakeholders and bringing opportunity to our service territory through economic development and community engagement. Our family of companies includes AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana, east Texas and the Texas Panhandle). AEP también es propietaria de AEP Energy, que brinda soluciones energéticas competitivas e innovadoras en todo el país. AEP is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, visit aep.com.
CONTACTO CON LOS MEDIOS:
- Schnee Doyle
- Communications Specialist
- 574-218-6987
- smdoyle@aep.com