Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), an American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) company, has received the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission’s (IURC) recent order regarding its large load tariff settlement filed in late 2024. The term “large load” refers to customers who require a substantial amount of energy to operate and maintain their operations, primarily including data centers and large industrial customers.
The joint settlement with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC), Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Google, the Data Center Coalition (DCC) and the Citizens Action Coalition (CAC) reinforces I&M’s commitment to providing reliable and affordable service for all customers and allows for the company to pursue opportunities that support the continued economic growth of the communities it serves.
The IURC order approved the terms of the joint settlement, with one modification, and requires new large load customers, including data centers, to make long-term financial commitments proportional to their size. This will ensure the costs to serve these large load customers are reasonably recovered from them, and not passed on to existing customers. These investments will also support ongoing grid modernization for the benefit of all customers with enhanced reliability.
The modification to the settlement agreement in the approved order states that any reduction of more than 20% of a large load customer’s contracted peak capacity, that is mutually agreed upon between I&M and the large load customer, must be submitted to the IURC for its review and approval before becoming effective. This modification allows for increased transparency and Commission oversight of any significant changes to a large load customer’s commitment and any associated impacts of such changes.
“I&M is committed to providing all customers with the best service possible, while doing our part to help grow the communities they call home,” said Steve Baker, I&M president and chief operating officer. “This is an exciting time for our region, and we look to lead the way with innovative solutions that support a growing energy demand while still ensuring our existing customers have reliable and affordable power.”
The order approved by the IURC recognizes the increased energy needs of large load customers and highlights additional commitments these customers must meet when establishing electric service. These new requirements are critical to balancing the interest of the new customers with the interest of I&M’s existing customers. The new structure will enable I&M to optimize its existing and future investments in generation and transmission facilities to serve these new large loads in a way that is expected to improve the affordability of energy costs for all customers over time.
In 2024, AWS announced an $11 billion investment in a data center campus just west of New Carlisle, Ind. that will create at least 1,000 jobs. Google later announced a $2 billion data center in Fort Wayne. These investments are among the largest economic development projects in the state of Indiana and bring significant benefits to local communities.
I&M is currently in conversations with additional large load customers, who have also expressed interest in locating in the northeast Indiana region.