Indiana regulator criticizes utilities’ affordability measures INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana’s utility regulator chair said Tuesday he wants more comprehensive plans from utility providers to provide relief to ratepayers. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission took hours of testimony from each of the state’s five largest investor-owned utilities: AES Indiana, Duke Energy, NIPSCO, Indiana Michigan Power and CenterPoint Energy. The commissioners focused on affordability for ratepayers, specifically residential customers. Company leaders for AES Indiana and Duke Energy both said they already have programs in place to help customers lower their utility bills. AES Indiana President Brandi Davis-Handy said AES offers home energy assessments and weatherization services at no cost for qualifying customers and distributes energy-saving items through partners including Gleaners and Midwest Food Banks. Duke Energy Indiana President Stan Pinegar said his company offers time-of-use accounts that provide discounts for doing household chores during off-peak hours. IURC Chair Andy Zay, who was appointed to the job by Gov. Mike Braun in January after serving for ten years in the Indiana Senate, said what he heard from utility companies wasn’t much different from what they have already advertised. He said he wants to hear more specific, immediate relief plans. “I’m not certain I’ve heard anything tangible (today) that is really going to hit Main Street and our ratepayers. And that concerns me,” he said. “I think there are some programs and some plans out there. I would like to see the utilities stretch a little bit more, make a commitment, invest that to really make a difference with Hoosier ratepayers and Main Street. AES officials came under especially heavy questioning regarding their company’s pending acquisition by a consortium of investors led by Blackrock. Davis-Handy said the acquisition requires federal approval and would not be complete before late 2026 or early 2027 at the earliest. She said the consortium of buyers is committed to maintaining AES’ affordability commitments and would not pass the costs of the acquisition along to customers. “I will tell you that they are long-term infrastructure investors,” she said. “And so that means, and I think that it is an important moment that we are in in the state of Indiana. This is not their first potential acquisition of a company that has investor-owned utilities.” Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, who serves on the House Utilities Committee and was one of several state lawmakers who attended Tuesday’s hearing, said she doesn’t have much faith in that promise. “They’re paying, what, $33 billion for this company? You don’t pay $33 billion for a company and then say, I’m not going to recoup my costs,” she said. “How are they going to recoup their costs if ratepayers aren’t paying more?” Zay said he couldn’t say whether he believed that promise but added any concerns about the AES acquisition would inform the questions commissioners ask moving forward. He said he was more optimistic about utility companies’ assertion that data center developers will cover all of the costs associated with their facilities. So far, Zay said he has seen nothing to indicate utility companies are passing data center costs on to consumers. In addition to Tuesday’s hearing with utility companies, Zay said the commission will hold a series of ten listening sessions throughout the state beginning Thursday and running through April 22. Members of the public are invited to come talk to the commission about their experience with utility bills. In central Indiana, listening sessions will be held at Columbus City Hall on April 2, Noblesville City Hall on April 9 and the Ivy Tech Conference Center in Indianapolis on April 20. Those listening sessions all run from 6-8 p.m. ...read more read less