I&M to invest $45M into Marion-Hartford City Transmission Line Project by 2025

An upgrade project for the electric transmission network in Indiana’s Grant and Blackford Counties will see a $45 million investment from Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) between now and its planned completion in spring 2025.

Scheduled to begin work in fall 2023, the company announced last week that the Marion-Hartford City Transmission Line Project will consist of a mix of upgrades and retirements to benefit the area’s reliability. Throughout the project, approximately 18 miles of 69 kV power lines will be updated, along with the Deer Creek and Hummel Creek substations. Meanwhile, the Gas City Substation will be retired.

Regarding the line updates, deteriorating wooden poles will be swapped for modern steel poles, bringing a more stable base to critical infrastructure that has been in continuous operation since the 1960s. According to I&M, this should also improve operational performance, as well as reduce the likelihood of extended power outages and the frequency of equipment repairs. The transmission line has suffered more than 10 outages in the last seven years.

Landowners in the region should soon begin receiving communications from OR Colan (ORC), which serves as I&M’s right-of-way representative on the Marion-Hartford project. This is because the new transmission line will require additional or new easements for approximately 60 feet of right of way, so the utility can safely build, operate and maintain the line.