AES Indiana Agrees to Reduction in Proposed Rate Increase

AES Indiana announced that they have reached a partial settlement in the Regulatory Rate Review to reduce their proposed rate increase.

Source: (PHOTO: Inside INdiana Business)

INDIANAPOLIS — AES Indiana announced that they have reached a partial settlement in the Regulatory Rate Review to reduce their proposed rate increase.

In a release sent out Thursday morning, the utility company said their original proposal that would’ve seen Hoosiers paying an average of $21 more a month would reduce to $10 more a month, if approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

A residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month would see an approximate $10 monthly bill increase implemented by 2027. The rate adjustment averages 3.35 percent over two years.

“For over a decade, AES Indiana has consistently ranked among the lowest residential rates in the state, and that’s not by chance,” said Brandi Davis-Handy, President of AES Indiana. “Despite rising costs, we have been disciplined in our planning through measures like our operations and maintenance costs holding flat for the past five years.”

AES Indiana filed its initial rate review request with the IURC on June 3. They also agreed to not implement new base rates until January 1, 2030 after this current rate request is implemented.

“We have a deep commitment to operating efficiently and keeping rates as low as possible,” Davis-Handy added. “Throughout this process, we’ve listened to stakeholder feedback and evaluated tradeoffs we will make for future investments while minimizing the financial impact of delivering safe and reliable electric service.”

In September, the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) along with Indianapolis City-County Council called on a reduction in rates from AES.

While on WIBC’s “Kendall and Casey” on Thursday, democratic council member Jesse Brown said utility rates for central Indiana folks are already way too high and AES should scrap their proposal. Last week, councilors passed a resolution that asked AES to withdraw their rate case entirely, but according to Brown, no one had reached out to council members after that and claimed Indianapolis mayor Joe Hogsett did this “unilaterally.”

“The Office of Utility Consumer Counselor came out with their report based on all the feedback and said AES should not get a rate increase at all, in fact, they should lower their rates,” said Brown. “I think we need a little more public testimony just to keep this in the spotlight and make sure the IURC understands that Joe Hogsett does not speak for us.”

Councilor Brown is calling for a field hearing to be had about the settlement that involves the city, the utility company and ratepayers.

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