City, I&M hopeful for mediation

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - A mediation date is set for officials at Indiana Michigan Power and the City of Fort Wayne. Both parties are hopeful they can come to a resolution on what to do with the city electric utility.

Despite all the acrimony, both parties claim they're still very willing to work together to serve about 33-thousand of Fort Wayne's residents with reliable, low-cost electricity.

They will meet at the end of the month. I&M officials say they hope they can agree on a price to actually buy out the lease. Communications Director Susanne Moorman Rowe says I&M has made a few different offers to the city for that deal, but Mayor Tom Henry thought they were lower than what the privilege to serve the customers was worth.

Since then, Henry announced he wanted to take the utility to the open market to find the best and most financially sound provider. In the event that things fall apart with I&M, the City has hired a consulting firm, Novi Energy, to plan the transition of the city utility to a new provider.

"We will continue negotiating with [I&M] while at the same time, preparing an Request for Proposal that goes out to a larger group of industry specialists," said City Utilities Director Kumar Menon.

The lease agreement between I&M and the City, which dates back to 1974, expires on March 1, 2010.