I&M settlement agreement would reduce requested rates plan as result of federal tax cuts
Following the passage of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) has submitted a settlement agreement to significantly reduce rates requested under its Building the Future plan.
Those federal tax cuts have resulted in large savings for the company, and its stakeholders helped them come up with additional means of cost recovery, meaning they have savings they can pass onto customers. While the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) still needs to approve the new plan, I&M would be able to create new programs under it to help low-income customers and provide communities with economic development incentives.
“I&M is committed to serving our customers in the ways they want to be served, and we are pleased to significantly limit the increase in our proposed rates for customers while still preserving our plans to reduce outages by enhancing infrastructure and to gain more flexibility in transitioning our generation sources to a more diverse energy mix ,” Toby Thomas, president and COO of I&M, said. “We understand the impact of rates on our low-income customers, and I am pleased our revised plan includes additional assistance for them. To help build the communities we serve, the settlement also includes new economic development incentives.”
The proposed settlement would result in an increase of $96.8 million, resulting from a monthly increase of $9.41 for the average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours. If approved, the new rates would go into partial effect this July, before being fully phased in around early 2019.
With those new rates would come another of other changes as well. The company would accelerate its trimming and clearing operations near power lines, modernize its energy delivery system through pole and wire replacement, create a new renewable energy program allowing customers to choose a percentage of their energy use to attribute to solar and wind energy, eliminate credit card fees on bills and plan for retirement of Unit 1 of the Rockport, Indiana plant. A $700,000 economic impact grant program would also be established for partnerships with communities and organizations on qualified economic development projects.
