(INDIANAPOLIS) – A bill passed by the House would limit how much your electric bill can go up. But opponents charge it would actually leave you paying more.
The bill says gas and electric companies can’t raise rates by more than 2{33c7a55facb4cf7a957787771078960a6f8f21e4360f0c5ef574af68d5180089} to pay for improvements to their distribution grid. But it orders utility regulators to approve the rate hikes as long as the projects are “reasonable.”
That’s the same language already used elsewhere in the law, but Citizens Action Coalition chairman Kerwin Olson charges it’s a blank check to the utilities, leaving regulators without discretion to turn down rate hikes.
The bill would direct regulators to determine whether the projects would benefit public convenience, and whether the benefits justify the costs.
The proposal also says utilities don’t have to detail the specific locations of projects like repairs or pole inspections. Olson contends that leaves utilities able to raise rates two-percent more or less at will.The bill passed the House 74-19, with 12 Democrats joining most Republicans in supporting it. Two Republicans voted no. The bill is awaiting a hearing in the Senate.
NIPSCO facility in Michigan City (Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
