INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WOWO) — AES Indiana says they are postponing more community open houses they had previously scheduled for the week of March 9. Mallory Duncan, Director of Communications for AES Indiana, said Friday afternoon that this is all being done over safety concerns. “The safety of ou r customers, community partners, and team members remains our top priority. This decision was made out of an abundance of caution and it was not made lightly. The company has been the focus of threats of violence on social media. In addition, due to these threats a community partner has raised safety concerns and requested we find an alternate location for a future meeting,” said Duncan. She says AES Indiana has consistently held community open houses to provide accessible, in-person support and direct engagement for our consumers. “We are disappointed that because of the social media threats we are unable to offer that opportunity to our customers at this time. Customers can continue to contact AES Indiana 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by phone or online at https://www.aesindiana.com/contact-us. We will share details about future community open houses at a later date,” Duncan continued. AES was supposed to have a community open house on Tuesday night of this week. That was also called off for safety reasons. The AES Corporation announced Monday that it will be acquired by a consortium of global investors. The consortium includes Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock, and the EQT Infrastructure VI fund. Two underwriters of the deal, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the Qatar Investment Authority, are also part of the purchasing group. The deal values the energy company at a total equity value of $10.7 billion. Including the assumption of existing debt, the total enterprise value of the sale is around $33.4 billion. “I’m very concerned that AES’s move toward private ownership will hurt Hoosiers. Private firms having a stake in public utilities – an essential service – will put profits over people. I’ve worked in Congress to lower utility costs, but the Trump administration is constantly undermining our efforts by prioritizing corporate interests. Indianapolis families are already facing higher costs for healthcare, groceries, and housing. The last thing they need is another increase in their utility bills,” said Indianapolis Democratic Congressman Andre Carson. Treasurer Daniel Elliott also said he is concerned about this deal. “As Treasurer, I took actions to protect Hoosier public servants from BlackRock’s ESG decisions. I’m also extremely concerned by the presence of the CalPERS, the California Pension fund and the influence they’ll have over the lives of Hoosiers. Recently, CalPERS lost over 300 million dollars of retiree money and their mismanagement is now the subject of a Congressional probe. The Qatari Investment Authority has known ties to Hamas. This fundamentally misaligns with Hoosier values. Hoosiers deserve answers. Hoosiers need to be guaranteed that they will not face harm at a time when affordability is one of the most important issues facing all of us. I hope that the federal regulators that are in charge of reviewing and approving this merger will complete a full review and give Hoosiers complete transparency on the terms of this deal. Otherwise and until then, I cannot support this deal,” said Elliott. The post AES Postpones Community Open Houses appeared first on WOWO News/Talk 92.3 FM and 1190 AM. ...read more read less