Indiana watchdog seeks to undo AES rate hike, says Hoosiers shouldn't pad shareholders' pockets

An Indiana watchdog for utility consumers wants regulators to revisit AES Indiana's $71 million electricity rate hike, saying the approval did not give enough weight to whether the higher charges are affordable for the utility's hundreds of thousands of customers.

At the center of the challenge is whether households already under budget pressure should shoulder bigger electric bills while returns for utility investors remain protected.

What happened?

The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, which represents utility ratepayers across residential, commercial, and industrial customer groups, asked the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to rehear and reconsider its recent approval, according to WFYI.

"Affordability is my utmost priority, and I believe the IURC needs to reexamine its position on things like shareholder profit and rate case expense," Utility Consumer Counselor Abby Gray said in a statement, per WFYI.

The filing said customers were wrongly required to absorb several contested expenses, including storm costs, pay connected to over 100 vacant jobs, and AES Indiana's return on equity.

David Ober, who previously served on the regulatory commission, explained the request to WFYI.

"Basically, what the OUCC is asking is: 'You made these judgment calls based on this evidence. We're asking you to re-weight the evidence in a way that is more preferential to the people that we are statutorily asked to represent' — so, ratepayers," Ober said.

Another party in the case, Citizens Action Coalition, said it supported the petition.

"We think affordability was ignored, especially understanding that residential customers are bearing the brunt of the burden here in terms of getting the largest increase of any customer class," Executive Director Kerwin Olson told WFYI.

Why does it matter?

"Hoosiers should not be paying for expensive attorneys and other unreasonable expenses so that shareholders can pad their pockets," Gray stated.

Olson said the coalition was also seeking more scrutiny of the announced agreement involving BlackRock and other investors who want to acquire AES Indiana's parent company as well as a proposed data center in Monrovia.

What's being done?

The filing started an administrative review process. Other parties in the case can respond, and the IURC then has 60 days to decide.

Ober said regulators could leave the order in place, amend it, reopen the case to gather more evidence, or overturn the decision.

"If no action is taken within 60 days, then it's deemed denied automatically," he said, per WFYI.

After that, parties could seek additional relief from the Court of Appeals of Indiana.

"We will continue to follow the process consistent with the state's regulatory construct," AES Indiana stated. "As always, our mission is to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electric service to our more than 530,000 customers across Central Indiana."

In another statement, it announced "additional programs to support efficiency and low-income customers," WFYI reported.

"Ratepayers have been tightening their belts for years; it's time for utilities to do the same," Gray stated.

Olson told WFYI, "How does that meet the threshold of affordability?"

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