FORT WAYNE, Ind., October 4, 2013 – Beginning October 7, Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) will conduct helicopter aerial inspections and routine maintenance on a high-voltage transmission line. The line spans from Bridgman, MI to North Liberty, IN and runs through the counties of Berrien (MI), LaPorte (IN) and St. Joseph (IN).

I&M’s contractor, Haverfield Aviation, will conduct the inspection and maintenance work using a Hughes MD500 helicopter with tail number N50AP.

The process will require the helicopter to hover over the lines and workers will replace equipment from a platform. Customers with questions or concerns about aerial inspections should contact I&M at 1-800-311-4634 (Indiana) or 1-800-311-6424 (Michigan).

In addition to the maintenance work, another contractor will be performing planning and surveying work involving transmission circuits in the South Bend area.

- Video: Footage of Helicopter Transmission Work

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Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is headquartered in Fort Wayne, and its 2,500 employees serve more than 582,000 customers. It operates 3,595 MW of coal-fired generation in Indiana, 2,110 MW of nuclear generation in Michigan and 22 MW of hydro generation in both states.  The company also provides its customers 250 MW of purchased wind generation.

I&M is a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 39,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP’s transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP’s utility units operate as 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’s headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.