A major new transmission line is coming. Let's choose the route that has the least impact.
Your Immediate Help Is Needed
Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) and AEP Transmission are planning the Lulu-Sorenson Transmission Improvements Project, approximately 75 miles of new 765-kV transmission line through northeast Indiana.
The project is moving forward, but the final route has NOT been selected.
I&M is currently evaluating numerous study segments and will ultimately select a combination of segments to create the final route.
It appears that the least invasive option is the outermost eastern corridor through Steuben and DeKalb Counties, generally following the Indiana-Ohio state line.
As a community, our request to I&M and AEP Transmission should be simple if it must pass through Steuben and DeKalb counties:
Keep the transmission line toward the eastern edge of Steuben and DeKalb Counties and minimize its impact on our residents, lakes, communities, and land.
The catch? Well, I&M is only accepting comments through October 9, 2026.
Map of proposed routes in Steuben & DeKalb Counties.
THE LINE IS COMING. THE ROUTE IS STILL A CHOICE.
Let’s be clear: nobody wants this line in Steuben or DeKalb counties at all. Unfortunately, this effort is not about stopping the Lulu-Sorenson project. I&M has stated that the project is part of an already approved larger regional transmission plan and is moving forward through Steuben and DeKalb counties.
The question facing our communities is where the line should go.
I&M says community feedback, along with engineering, environmental, and land-use considerations, will help determine the final route.
That means now is the time to speak up.
Let’s ask residents of Steuben County, DeKalb County, and the surrounding area to encourage I&M and AEP Transmission to:
Select the outermost eastern study-segment corridor along the Indiana-Ohio state line as the final route.
The goal is simple:
Minimize the overall impact of this project on our residents, homes, lakes, natural areas, and communities.
WHY THE EASTERN STATE-LINE CORRIDOR?
1. Minimize the Distance Through Our Counties
While everyone would prefer that this line not cross our counties at all, I&M has made clear that it will. The easternmost alternative follows a direct path along the Indiana–Ohio state-line area and appears to require the least amount of transmission line within Steuben County than alternatives that travel farther west before turning south. It also appears to be one of the most direct routes through DeKalb County.
If the line has to come through our counties, it makes sense to minimize the distance it travels through them. A more direct north-south route along the state line avoids the additional distance created when a route travels diagonally across the counties or moves farther west before turning back south.
Simply put, the more direct the route, the less transmission line we have running through our counties.
2. Keep the Line Out of Our Interior Communities
A 765-kV transmission line requires a massive permanent corridor through the properties and communities it crosses. If the line must pass through Steuben and DeKalb Counties, the best option appears to be to stay as close to the outer edge of the counties as possible rather than cutting farther into our interior communities, neighborhoods, farms, and lakes.
The easternmost route along the Indiana–Ohio state line provides an opportunity to keep this massive transmission corridor away from more of the interior of our counties.
3. Protect Our Lakes, Ag Land, & Natural Areas
Steuben County is home to more than 101 lakes, along with many wetlands, streams, nature preserves, wildlife habitat, and other environmentally sensitive areas.
Most of the interior study segments bring this massive infrastructure into established lake communities and sensitive natural areas.
Keeping the route farther east can help reduce those impacts.
4. Reduce the Impact on Private Property
The proposed transmission line could require approximately 180–200 feet of permanent right-of-way.
Where a route can follow existing roads, property lines, section lines, or other established boundaries - such as along the Indiana/Ohio state line - it may reduce the need to cut a completely new corridor through the middle of farms, woods, and residential properties.
The eastern state-line corridor deserves serious consideration for exactly this reason.
Proposed Routes Will Affect Natural Resources
The proposed transmission routes would cross Steuben and DeKalb Counties for many miles, affecting not only homes and private property, but also lakes, wetlands, streams, wooded areas, wildlife habitat, farmland and other natural resources. Some of the interior routes would bring this massive transmission corridor particularly close to Steuben County’s lakes and surrounding wetlands.
For example:
Segment 5 would pass within roughly 0.5 miles of Golden Lake and 0.5 miles of Long Lake.
Segment 12 would pass approximately 0.75 miles from Pleasant Lake, about 0.5 miles from Meserve Lake, and approximately 0.25 miles from Gooseneck Lake.
Segment 13 would pass approximately 0.5 miles from Ball Lake and about 1.0 miles from Hamilton Lake.
Segment 23 would pass approximately 0.5 miles from Hamilton Lake.
The easternmost route along the Indiana–Ohio state line would avoid all of these lake areas. Rather than bringing the transmission corridor through the heart of Steuben County’s lake country, utilizing the state line route would keep it along the eastern edge of Steuben and DeKalb Counties, potentially reducing impacts to other natural resources as well.
Sample image of Hamilton Lake with high voltage lines from Segment 23.
Sample image of Pleasant Lake with high voltage lines from Segment 12.
Sample image of Ball Lake with high voltage lines from segment 13.
Sample image of Golden Lake with high voltage lines from Segment 5.
Do Your Part:
SEND A LETTER
I&M is accepting public feedback through October 9, 2026.
Your letter does not need to be long. Tell I&M that you support the least impactful route, which is the outermost eastern/state-line corridor, and explain why.
Sample Letter
Dear I&M Lulu-Sorenson Project Team,
First and foremost, I urge I&M and AEP Transmission to avoid routing the Lulu-Sorenson Transmission Improvements Project through Steuben or DeKalb Counties altogether.
I understand, however, that this transmission line project is moving forward and that I&M is currently evaluating possible routes. If the project must pass through Steuben or DeKalb Counties, I encourage I&M and AEP Transmission to select the outermost eastern study-segment corridor along the Indiana-Ohio state line.
I believe this alternative deserves serious consideration because it keeps the transmission corridor toward the outer edge of the counties, may impact fewer residents and established communities, avoids bringing the line farther into our lake areas, and may reduce the amount of interior private property affected.
If this transmission line must be built through Steuben or DeKalb Counties, I believe the final route should minimize its overall impact on the people, homes, lakes, land and natural resources of our communities.
Please first consider alternatives that avoid Steuben and DeKalb Counties altogether. If that is not possible, please give the eastern state-line corridor serious consideration when selecting the final route.
Thank you,
[NAME]
[CITY / COUNTY]
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY OCTOBER 9, 2026:
Delia Makhetha
Project Outreach Representative
Email: IMoutreach@aeptransmission.com
Phone: (877) 605-5554
ADDRESS 1: Indiana Michigan Power Headquarters
Attn: Transmission Project Outreach / Delia Makhetha
1 Summit Square
PO Box 60
Fort Wayne, IN 46801
ADDRESS 2: American Electric Power
ATT: Maggie Beggs
1 Riverside Plaza
Columbus, OH 43215-9921
ADDRESS 3: AEP Transmission Line Projects
c/o Project Outreach (Lulu-Sorenson Project)
8600 New Trails Dr
The Woodlands, TX 77381
**Be sure to clearly reference “Lulu - Sorenson Transmission Improvements Project” on the envelope and letter so that it routes to the correct outreach team.
Protect Steuben + DeKalb. Support the Eastern State-Line Corridor.
