SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Indiana Michigan Power announced Tuesday that it will file to reduce base rates as part of a comprehensive Customer Benefits Plan for Hoosiers.

The company states the base rate is the largest portion of most bills.

I&M officials state this rate decrease is possible due to the load growth and increased revenue the company is experiencing from large customers including data centers.

The Customer Benefits Plan also includes protections against future increases and strategic investments to further improve reliability.

I&M states full details will be outlined in its next base rate case filing to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in the summer.

The new benefits plan is set to include:

• Base Rate Reduction - Lowers the current base rate.
• Benefits Bank - A tool that will be used to stabilize customers’ rates by providing a buffer against future cost increases.
• Reliability Improvements - Strategic investments in modern infrastructure and technology designed to improve grid performance, resulting in fewer and shorter outages, building on a 32 percent improvement in reliability over the past five years.

“Our priority is to keep rates as low as possible while delivering reliable power and growing our communities,” said Steve Baker, I&M’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “We know customers are concerned about affordability and the impact of data-center growth on rates. The fact that we can reduce rates while continuing to invest in the infrastructure and technology that supports reliability, is evidence that growth in I&M’s service territory is benefiting all customers.”

I&M states additional details of the plan and opportunities for public input will be shared closer to the filing date this summer.