At Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), our customers are the center of the work we do each day. Providing safe, reliable power to homes and businesses allows customers to go about their day, uninterrupted. This is made possible by strategic reliability improvements that keep our communities powered in any season.
Severe weather is often tied to outages, but other situations can threaten reliable service. The outages we might see can happen for different reasons, beyond our control. Vehicle accidents involving equipment, balloons tangled in lines, windstorms that send items airborne and a curious squirrel can impact service. Our crews are ready to restore power as quick and safe as possible, should it be needed. Additional efforts also ensure customers have the best experience possible by providing reliable power when they need it most.
Innovative updates to the energy grid play a significant role. Improved infrastructure and the addition of smart technology allow for enhanced restoration times and better customer experience. One example is through the addition of self-healing Distribution Automation Circuit Reconfiguration (DACR) technology, which works to reconfigure circuits when one is damaged. Crews still report to fix the damage, but with DACR, customers are not left in the dark while they work.
With a system set up to be more durable, customers can experience a shorter time without service if an outage does occur.
Trees also play a major role in outages. Whether ice that coats limbs, or winds that blow them down, vegetation can spell trouble. Through vegetation management efforts, I&M has focused on removing overgrown or potentially hazardous vegetation to lower the risk for outages it may cause. In 2024 alone, our crews completed over 2,533 miles of vegetation work to help enhance reliable service for customers.
Knowing where to find information is important. Whether outage maps or safety tips, use these resources to stay up to date in a potential outage situation:
If a storm does take service out to your home or neighborhood, I&M provides customers with real-time updates to keep customers safe and informed.
See also: I&M Puts Power in Reliability