Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) is working in partnership with its parent company, American Electric Power (AEP), to strengthen reliability. As a result, those living in 11 Southern Indiana counties may hear and see a helicopter with a saw attached to it in the sky.

I&M manages nearly 25,000 miles of power lines across Indiana and Michigan. This includes high-voltage power lines that carry electricity across the country, which are in Southern Indiana.

AEP Transmission’s forestry specialists will work alongside those high-voltage power lines using a 33-ft aerial saw suspended from a helicopter to maintain trees and other brush safely and efficiently in hard-to-reach areas to proactively prevent tree-related outages, especially during storms. The aerial trimming process will continue intermittently through Sept. 19, weather permitting. 

I&M and AEP are committed to balancing the importance of trees with the equally important need to deliver safe and reliable electricity. For more information and I&M’s reliability efforts, visit IndianaMichiganPower.com/Forestry.