By: Tracy Warner—
Fort Wayne, IN—Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) plans to enhance energy reliability for customers in east-central Indiana by upgrading a key transmission line using innovative, unique towers.
The Muncie-Marion Transmission Line Rebuild Project includes rebuilding about 20 miles of 138-kilovolt (kV) transmission line in Delaware and Grant counties. The company plans to conduct most of the construction in the existing right-of-way, although it might need to acquire supplemental easements. The improvements help reduce the likelihood of power outages and speed recovery of service when outages occur.
The project involves replacing steel lattice towers with modern Breakthrough Overhead Line Design®(BOLD) structures that are shorter, have a smaller footprint and deliver electricity more efficiently. BOLD structures stand at approximately 85 feet tall and are located within an approximate 100-foot right-of-way corridor.
Tree clearing and road access construction is expected to begin in late 2019 and conclude Spring 2020. Transmission line construction begins in Fall 2020 and concludes late 2021. Visit IndianaMichiganPower.com/Muncie-Marion for additional information, including detailed maps of the project area.
About Indiana Michigan Power
Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is headquartered in Fort Wayne, and its 2,450 employees serve more than 593,900 customers. More than half of its generation is emission-free, including 2,278 MW of nuclear generation in Michigan, 450 MW of purchased wind generation from Indiana, 22 MW of hydro generation in both states and approximately 15 MW of large-scale solar generation in both states. The company’s generation portfolio also includes 2,600 MW of coal-fueled generation in Indiana.
About American Electric Power
American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to our customers. AEP’s more than 17,000 employees operate and maintain the nation’s largest electricity transmission system and more than 224,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.4 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation’s largest electricity producers with approximately 33,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including 4,200 megawatts of renewable energy.
