As Hurricane Milton has left more than three million customers in Florida without power, Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) employees are traveling today to the hard-hit state.
I&M has 479 employees and contractors joining Hurricane Milton restoration efforts to help Tampa Electric and Florida Power and Light restore their customers. Our lineworkers, fleet technicians, tree trimming experts and safety support staff will work 16-hour days repairing and replacing power poles, power lines and if needed, rebuilding portions of the electrical system.
This is I&M's second hurricane response in recent weeks. More than 450 I&M employees and contractors assisted our AEP sister companies, Appalachian Power and Kentucky Power, restoring power to customers after remnants of Hurricane Helene caused widespread power outages. Those crews returned home Monday after 10 days. I&M has fresh crews heading to Florida and a full contingent of lineworkers, tree trimming crews and employees to respond if outages occur at home.
"The dedication to helping each other and our customers is a mainstay of our industry. Restoring power is often the first critical step in rebuilding and restoring normalcy in devastated communities." said Steve Baker, I&M President, and COO. "I'm always impressed with our employee's willingness to respond - often at a moment's notice - to help those at home and far away. Thank you and your families for your dedication to helping those who need it most."
I&M and our parent company, AEP, are part of a nationwide group of power companies that help each other when significant power outages occur. Though there is no timetable for our crews' return, you can follow I&M's role in the restoration efforts on our social media pages.
# # #
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 2023 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.
At American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, we understand that our customers and communities depend on safe, reliable and affordable power. Our nearly 17,000 employees operate and maintain more than 40,000 miles of transmission lines, the nation's largest electric transmission system, and more than 225,000 miles of distribution lines to deliver power to 5.6 million customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation's largest electricity producers with nearly 29,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including approximately 6,100 megawatts of renewable energy. AEP is investing $43 billion over the next five years to make the electric grid cleaner and more reliable. We are on track to reach an 80% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 levels by 2030 and have a goal to achieve net zero by 2045. AEP is recognized consistently for its focus on sustainability, community engagement and inclusion. La familia de compañías de AEP incluye a AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (en Virginia y Virginia Occidental), AEP Appalachian Power (en Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma y Southwestern Electric Power Company (en Arkansas, Louisiana, este de Texas y la región del Mango de Texas). AEP también es propietaria de AEP Energy, que brinda soluciones energéticas competitivas e innovadoras en todo el país. Para obtener más información, visite aep.com.