Indiana Michigan Power Rate Increase Approved, But Not Fully
State utility regulators have approved a rate increase for Indiana Michigan Power. But, that increase is less than half of what the company was hoping for.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission Wednesday approved a rate hike of just over $96 million. The utility had requested an increase of more than $260 million. I&M says the increase will go towards infrastructure upgrades, such as replacing power lines and trimming trees to avoid outages.
The approval is even less than what the state’s Office of Utility Consumer Counselor says it was going to recommend in November of last year. At that time, spokesman Anthony Swinger said, “We’ve looked over pages and pages of testimony and evidence and we’re recommending approval of a little less than half of the rate increase I&M has asked for.”
It’s recommendation was a $125 million increase.
READ MORE: OUCC Says I&M Rate Increase Too High
With the state approval finalized, residential customers will see their flat rate go up by $3.20 per month.
Indiana Michigan Power will also credit $4 million to its customers as a result of the tax breaks it got from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
