I&M upgrading

A major upgrade is planned for electrical infrastructure in Jay County.

Indiana Michigan Power has announced plans to make $45 million in improvements to its electric transmission network.

The company, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, will hold an open house from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. July 25 at Jay Community Center to field questions from the public about the planned work.

The project includes:

•Rebuilding a total of 10 miles (8 miles of 138-kilovolt and 2 miles of 69-kilovolt) transmission lines, including a stretch from the Dunkirk substation to the area near the intersection of Indiana 1 and county road 100 North.

•Building 9 miles of new transmission lines at 69 kilovolts from U.S. 27 to Indiana 1 in the area between county roads 100 North and 300 North.

•Upgrading the Dunkirk substation on the east side of the city on county road 400 South and the Antiville substation at the intersection of county roads 200 North and 200 West.

“This updates some pretty old equipment,” said Indiana Michigan Power communications representative Tracy Warner. “A lot of these lines go back decades. They’ve served our customers well, but it’s time for them to be replaced and upgraded.”

The project, with construction to begin in summer 2021 and be completed in spring 2022, is designed to make power delivery more efficient and stable.

The upgrades will reduce the likelihood of power outages and decrease the time needed to put customers back in service when outages occur, a press release said.

Warner explained that the changes add redundancies to the system by providing additional connections between substations. For instance, the Antiville and Dunkirk substations are currently connected by lines that run along county road 200 West, Indiana 67 and county road 400 South. The new line will add a connection via the new transition line from the Antiville substation west to Indiana 1.

The rebuilt and new lines will all use single-pole structures.

“A lot of the older ones are the lattice type with the four legs … and these are monopoles,” said Warner. “We know a lot of farmers like those because they only have one pole to mow around.” 

The rebuilt lines will remain in existing rights-of-way, but Indiana Michigan Power will need to get new easements for the planned new construction.

The company has identified a variety of “study segments” where the new line could potentially run.

Next week’s meeting will offer land owners in the area of the potential new construction to receive information about the project. There will be representatives from the company who work in transmission and right-of-way easement to provide details to residents, including wether their property may be effected. There will be no formal presentation. Those who wish to attend can arrive at any time during the two-hour span to ask questions, review maps and provide input.

“That’s one of the main reasons we have these open houses is to … show (the public) what the possibilities are and get their feedback,” said Warner. “Sometimes members of the public will point things out or express concern about something.”

An announcement of the final route for the new line is planned for the fall.

The upcoming project in Jay County is part of an overall effort to improve Indiana Michigan Power’s infrastructure. Other work includes:

•Rebuilding 8 miles of transmission lines between Dunkirk and Hartford City, expected to be complete in early 2020.

•Rebuilding about 6 miles of transmission lines between Winchester and Union City, with expected completion in late 2020.

Previous work has included rebuilding transmission lines from Hartford City to Montpelier and Hartford City to Eaton.