Statement of Toby Thomas, President and Chief Operating Officer of Indiana Michigan Power, updating communities in the I&M service territory regarding delivery of energy service during the coronavirus pandemic:
Thank you for this opportunity to update the community about the status of Indiana Michigan Power at this crucial time.
I&M does not anticipate any interruptions in our service related to the coronavirus. I&M’s No. 1 focus is on the health and safety of our customers and employees as our teams continue to work to keep the lights on 24/7. We have updated our emergency plans for the COVID-19 pandemic and we continue to closely monitor the situation.
This is a challenging and uncertain time. Indiana Michigan Power encourages all of our customers to abide by the guidelines that the Centers for Disease Control and our state and local government authorities have issued.
The American Electric Power Foundation is donating $1.5 million in emergency funds to support basic human needs and help address the hardships faced by customers and communities. Of that, $240,000 will be distributed to appropriate non-profit agencies in the I&M service territory.
We have taken significant steps to keep our employees healthy to ensure we can still serve our customers. Our line workers and other critical employees are working in smaller teams, practicing physical distancing and taking other prevention measures recommended by the CDC. We ask our customers and all members of the public to please respect the 6-foot distance from our workers for their safety and the safety of the community.
All employees who can are working from home to help prevent the spread of the virus – and that includes me.
Because we know that many of our customers are facing unusual financial hardships, we have temporarily suspended all service disconnections for non-payment. All customers will ultimately be responsible for paying their bill, and we urge them to try to keep their accounts current. If a customer is going to have trouble paying their bill, please contact us by phone or through Facebook or Twitter to discuss payment options.
We urge everyone to continue following the guidelines issued by the CDC and state and local authorities. Doing so will enable us as a community, a nation and a society to overcome this dangerous virus so we can once again thrive.
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Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is headquartered in Fort Wayne, and its 2,370 employees serve more than 597,000 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.
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 219,000 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 32,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including 4,300 megawatts of renewable energy. AEP’s family of companies includes utilities AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Brian Bergsma
Director of Communications and Government Affairs
Indiana Michigan Power
317-670-3561
bebergsma@aep.com