I&M grant helps promote Steuben
KPC Media - The Herald Republican
Indiana Michigan Power is helping Steuben County attract growing industries that will bring more job choices to local residents, create a larger tax base and help the dynamic communities grow, an I&M news release said.
The county of 101 lakes in the northeastern corner of Indiana offers great location, a vibrant quality of life and already has a strong manufacturing base. The county is well-poised to welcome emerging industries, including professional, scientific and technical services; advanced manufacturing; transportation and logistics; and health care and social assistance.
An I&M grant program aimed at helping customers in its service territory by boosting local economies will help support a three-year marketing campaign for Invest Steuben, the Steuben County Economic Development Corp.’s campaign to target specific industries using highly developed email, website, social media and video content.
“As the hometown energy provider in Hamilton and other parts of Steuben County, I&M values being a solid corporate citizen and wants to see our Hoosier communities thrive,” said Toby Thomas, I&M President and Chief Operating Officer. “In addition to Building the Future with better technology and serving customers in the ways they want to be served, I&M supports strategic programs to help the economies of our communities grow.”
“We, at the Steuben County Economic Development Corp., were excited to partner with I&M in their grant program to build our first attraction video project. Without their partnership and grant for our project, we would be lacking appropriate resources to effectively promote who we are and what we have to offer to all who may be interested in Steuben County and northeast Indiana,” said Isaac Lee, executive director of the SCEDC.
The video can be found on the SCEDC’s YouTube channel, SteubenEDC.
I&M also provided an Economic Impact Grant to the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership to help attract talented new residents and businesses who may be unfamiliar with the area’s many opportunities and great quality of life. The project led to the recently released “Make It Your Own” brand and logo that will resonate with prospective new residents. For more information, go to makeityourownNEI.com.
I&M created the Economic Impact Grant program as part of the company’s Building the Future plan approved in 2018 by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. I&M worked with several Hoosier cities and other customer groups to create the grant program to support catalytic economic development projects in the Hoosier communities the company serves. I&M has awarded more than $130,000 in Economic Development Grants in 2018 and will grant more than $100,000 in 2019.
Indiana Michigan Power is headquartered in Fort Wayne, and its 2,450 employees serve more than 593,900 customers. More than half of its generation is emission-free, including 2,278 megawatts of nuclear generation in Michigan, 450 megawatts of purchased wind generation from Indiana, 22 megawatts of hydro generation in both states and approximately 15 megawatts of large-scale solar generation in both states. The company’s generation portfolio also includes 2,600 megawatts of coal-fueled generation in Indiana.
