By Schnee M. Doyle, I&M Communications—
MUNCIE, IN—Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is gearing up ahead of this weekend’s forecasted snow, single-digit temperatures and below-zero wind chills.
I&M knows that our customers rely on us for safe, reliable power and an outage is not convenient at any time, but especially not during cold and snowy conditions. I&M crews and trucks will be ready to safely and quickly respond amid the frigid temperatures if outages occur.
I&M works year-round to prevent outages by replacing aging equipment, analyzing data to find issues before an outage occurs and trimming trees that can damage power lines. Since 2019, I&M has reduced the average time a customer is without service by 55% and has cut outages per customer nearly in half.
Connect with I&M through our social media platforms for information and assistance. You can download the I&M app (IndianaMichiganPower.com/App) and enroll in text and email alerts (IndianaMichiganPower.com/Alerts) to stay up to date through this cold winter weather.
Energy Costs and Saving Tips
Extreme cold forces your heating system to work harder to keep your home at a comfortable temperature, which can use more energy and increase your bill. Staying ahead of the incoming arctic chill can allow space to remain comfortable while keeping your bill manageable.
• Energize Your Eight this Winter:
- Lower your thermostat a few degrees for 8 hours during the day, such as when you are gone at work or school.
- Take 8 minutes to sign up for I&M text or email alerts, update your online account with updated contact information and view your home’s energy usage.
- Skip the space heater: running a 1500-watt unit for 8 hours can add over $60 a month to your energy bill.
- Find additional energy saving tips at com/savings/
Cold Weather Safety
- Stay away from downed power If you see a fallen wire, assume it is energized and stay away from it along with anything it may be touching like tree branches or fences. Report safety hazards to I&M at 1-800-311-4634 or to the local police department.
- Bring pets inside during winter Move other animals or livestock to sheltered areas with non-frozen drinking water.
- Keep pipes from Running water, even at a trickle, helps prevent pipes from freezing. If you are away from home for an extended time, do not let the thermostat go below 55 degrees to prevent pipes from freezing.
- Winterize your vehicle and keep the gas tank A full tank will keep the fuel line from freezing. Also check that your emergency kit in your car is ready for winter weather.
- Watch out for ice. With the ground cold, icing to roads and sidewalks may last longer. Remember not all ice is visible. Black ice can form on ground surfaces due to snow melting and Temperatures don’t have to be below freezing point for black ice to occur.
- Do not approach our crews. For your safety and ours, please do not approach I&M employees and contractors working to restore power.
- For more safety tips visit com/Safety/
