You’re likely to see I&M employees performing work from a bucket truck in the air or on the ground in your neighborhoods. But we also have workers under the ground.

Building and maintaining I&M’s underground network is the responsibility of 24 employees comprised of network mechanics, work schedulers and supervisors. Their goal is to ensure underground electrical equipment provides power to the downtown areas of Elkhart, Fort Wayne, Muncie and South Bend, Ind.

Here are ten interesting details you may not know about our dedicated network employees.

1. I&M’s underground network was constructed in the 1920s. The construction was a big task requiring the installation of new cables, transformers and various other equipment.
2. Our underground network has been recently upgraded. Over the last 10 years, we have significantly invested in the network by replacing 140,000 feet of electric cable, updating more than 100 transformers and upgrading more than 80 protecters keeping our busy downtowns powered.
3. I&M maintains approximately 1,050 utility holes, 186 underground vaults and more than 20 circuits. Inside the utility holes is where our workers perform repairs and general maintenance. The vaults hold our transformers and other equipment.
4. I&M monitors the underground network system 24/7. We have monitoring equipment which gives crews the chance to see information in real-time, be notified when outages occur, allow remote control of equipment so employees don’t have to enter the vault and detects water levels in vaults.
5. Our underground system incorporates network protectors and equipment in vaults, including transformers. Some of the transformers are the size of small vehicles and can range from 500 kilovolt-ampere (KVA) to 3,500 KVA.
6. The underground network is interconnected to provide multiple power supplies to customers. Each network is built with redundant connections so that if a circuit fails, the larger network is designed to keep those customers in power. 

   

7.  Our systems are built to operate when underwater. Equipment is rubberized to prevent leaks. Monitoring devices inside vaults record the water level and alert us when it’s rising quickly. Thermal imaging cameras and temperature controls are other ways for tracking conditions inside our utility holes and vaults.
8. Many network activities can be performed remotely. Our employees have data to assess underground equipment at our service centers. Network mechanics can connect, disconnect and reroute power with the click of a button, which is a big safety and operations advancement.
9. During storm restoration, network mechanics quickly jump in as damage assessors. The first step in I&M’s storm restoration process is to assess damage. The role of a damage assessor is to look for downed power poles and wires, damaged transformers and other electrical equipment.
10. Being an underground network mechanic is a highly specialized career. I&M’s parent company, American Electric Power (AEP) has a Network Training Program with 16 weeks of formal training spread out across four years, including several on-site learning opportunities.

Do you have skills in engineering, technical trades, finance, customer care, or in something that doesn't fit neatly under a label? We've got a place for you at AEP, where we work together to build America's electric energy future. To learn more about careers at I&M and AEP, click here.