Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has lifted a longtime utility customer advocate to the state’s top job — and directed her to find ways to cut bills.

Two members of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission have also announced plans to resign early, handing Braun more opportunities to impact utility rates. They join a third whose term has already lapsed.

“Hoosiers have been burdened with utility rate increase after increase. We can’t take it anymore,” Braun said in a Wednesday news release. His chief of staff told reporters that the governor will be focusing on energy and energy rates this fall.

Braun appointed Abby Gray to run the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor on Tuesday, according to the agency’s website. The 92-year-old office serves as utility customers’ legal and technical representative in IURC rate cases and matters.

Gray previously spent more than 16 years directing legal operations for the agency, per the website. Before that, she served 23 years as a senior administrative law judge and senior commission counsel for the IURC.

“I have dedicated my career to public service and it’s the honor of a lifetime to continue to serve Indiana ratepayers in this new role,” Gray said. “I am deeply humbled and appreciative of Governor Braun’s confidence in me and look forward to advocating for Indiana utility consumers.”

Former Counselor William Fine left his longtime post last week.

Braun also directed Gray to evaluate utility companies’ profits and look at other cost-saving measures to “ease the burden on ratepayers.”

“I would also like to see the utilities’ investors bear more of the cost of doing business,” he added, pointedly.

That’s the IURC’s realm.

Changes coming for utility regulators

When regulated utilities want to hike customer bills, they go to the commission for permission. The IURC can also regulate construction projects, asset acquisition, financing, bonding, environmental compliance plans, service territories and more.

While Gray and the OUCC explicitly represent Hoosiers, the commission is “an advocate of neither the public nor the utilities,” according to its website. It is supposed to ensure utilities provide safe, reliable service at just and reasonable rates.

Indiana’s “big five” investor-owned electricity providers are monopolies in their exclusive service territories.

Gubernatorial candidate Braun promised that, as seats on the IURC “become open,” he’d add appointees that “hold my views on the future of energy in Indiana.” Now, as governor, he has vacancies to fill.

IURC Chair Jim Huston’s current term ended in April. Without a replacement named, he’s continued serving. The terms for Commissioners Sarah Freeman and Wesley Bennett were set to end early next year, but both announced plans on Wednesday to resign in October.

In a news release, Freeman said she was “honored” to have spent nine years as a commissioner, and thanked Huston for his leadership.

Bennett called it a “blessing” to have served Hoosiers alongside his commission colleagues for the last two years.

Both have notified Braun of their intent to step down, according to the release, “ensuring time for the IURC Nominating Committee to open applications and fill the vacancies by their resignations.”

The administration says it wants the IURC to give more scrutiny to rate cases brought by the investor-owned utilities. New appointees will focus on ratepayers, affordability and supply.

Some lawmakers applauded Braun’s actions, but warned that Hoosier ratepayers are unlikely to see relief.

“I appreciate Gov. Braun’s stated commitment to lowering utility costs for consumers and share that desire with him,” Rep. Carey Hamilton, D-Indianapolis, said in a news release Wednesday. “… Changing the consumer ratepayer advocate commissioner does little to change the fact that the legal deck is stacked against Indiana utility consumers.”

“Thanks to a slew of new laws championed by the Republican supermajority, utility companies are still allowed to pass on the cost of expensive experimental projects to consumers, and data centers are exempt from paying sales tax,” she continued. “I hope that my House Republican colleagues will join us in advocating for consumers over utility company profits in the future, especially as consumers begin to understand that AI companies are passing on the cost of doing business to everyday families.”

Rep. Alex Burton, D-Evansville, also announced plans to file legislation aimed at lowering utility bills next session.

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The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to giving Hoosiers a comprehensive look inside state government, policy and elections. The site combines daily coverage with in-depth scrutiny, political awareness and insightful commentary.

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House Republicans gave the final go-ahead Tuesday to a caucus priority bill that seeks to incentivize new power generation in Indiana.

A 63-23 party-line vote on House Bill 1007 set the measure on course for Gov. Mike Braun’s desk.

The bill will expedite approval processes for large-load customers like data centers and create cost recovery mechanisms for projects utilities take on to serve those big customers.

It will also require a big prospective grid addition to make “significant and meaningful financial assurances” for such projects — reimbursing at least 80% of costs and protecting other existing and future customers from the expenses.

The bill, authored by Rep. Ed Soliday, Valparaiso, additionally gets tough with utilities planning to close — or convert to natural gas — any coal-fired plants of at least 125 megawatts. Current law mandates utilities that are not generating at least 85% of peak demand to report three-year projections to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC).

Utilities will instead be required to annually report the amount of resource generating capacity they plan to take offline. If, after an investigation, the IURC doesn’t think a utility can provide reliable service, it would have to block the utility’s plan or order it to either acquire or build capacity.

“We’re in competition with other states,” Soliday said. “We will not be the biggest incentive-offering state. (The bill) will put us in second. We won’t get a dime if they don’t come here, but if we are able to incentivize them to come here, we get 80% of something, not 100% of nothing.”

After strong pushback, senators removed more contentious provisions that intended to specifically boost small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) development — including a 20% sales tax credit for utilities.

That tax credit remains in the bill, however, for Hoosier manufacturers that produce SMR technology which could later be used by utilities in Indiana or elsewhere across the globe.

Democratic Rep. Matt Pierce, of Bloomington, said Tuesday he has concerns about the remaining tax credit, which could cost taxpayers an estimated $280 million, according to a legislative fiscal analysis.

He worried, too, that the overall bill will “force more expensive, obsolete coal plants to remain online for a longer period of time” — given that SMR development has largely been proposed on existing coal plant sites.

“Imagine what we could do with $280 million when it comes to providing people with health care, childcare, other essential services that people may rely upon the state,” Pierce said.

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GREENWOOD – Indiana American Water has filed a rate adjustment request with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

The move comes after the utility announced it was investing $875 million in water and wastewater systems to be made through 2025 to continue providing safe and reliable service as well as a significant increase in the cost of procuring chemicals, goods and services.

It was unclear if that figure includes the $700,000 used to acquire the Claypool water system, which was finalized last week.

“Indiana American Water has made significant investments in aging infrastructure and its treatment and distribution facilities to ensure service reliability, water quality, and fire protection capabilities that help protect customers and the communities we serve,” said Indiana American Water President Matt Prine.

“We also remain steadfastly committed to addressing the needs of our most vulnerable customers and have included components in our request to keep their rates affordable.”

In the filing, Indiana American Water is seeking to increase revenues over a phased in, three-step process through May 2025 that would result in $86.7 million of additional annual revenue when fully implemented.

If the company’s proposed rates are approved as requested, the bill for a typical residential customer using 4,000 gallons per month would increase by about $14 per month when rates are fully implemented in 2025.

The company last filed for new rates through a general rate filing in September 2018 and last implemented new rates in 2019.

The increases for residential wastewater customers will vary depending on the community served. Additional information on current rates is available on the company’s website at https://www.amwater.com/inaw/customer-service-billing/your-water-rates.

Recognizing that affordability may still be an issue for some customers, the company is proposing a new rate design that provides 1,500 gallons of water usage at no additional cost above the fixed monthly customer charge for all water customers. The proposed change would provide relatively low-cost basic water service for customers on fixed incomes that use a lower volume of water than the typical residential customer.

The filing also includes a proposed Universal Affordability Tariff to provide multiple tiers of discounts to address the affordability needs of different levels of household income. Under the new rate structure, eligible households would receive monthly bill discounts of between 30 and 80 percent for water service.

The IURC’s rate review process offers multiple opportunities for customer involvement. Customers can participate through written comments, attendance at public input hearings, and consumer advocacy organizations that participate in the proceedings. For more information on the company’s rate proposal and to find out what actions customers may take, visit us online at https://www.amwater.com/inaw/customer-service-billing/your-water-rates.

For customers facing a financial hardship, Indiana American Water offers payment plans and budget billing. Indiana American Water also provides information to customers about the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Plan (LIHWAP). More information can be found by clicking on the Low Income Program link under the Customer Service & Billing heading on the company’s website or by clicking here.

For tips on how to reduce your water bill by conserving water, visit our Wise Water Use page at https://www.amwater.com/inaw/Water-Wastewater-Information/wise-water-use.

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