AES leaders defend proposed rate hike
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Editor's note: AES Indiana and the city of Indianapolis reached an after-hours settlement agreement in the utility company's latest rate review case. Read about the agreement here.
AES Indiana leadership is defending a rate hike request some residents and lawmakers have decried as too much.
Why it matters: The deadline for the utility company to put a settlement offer on the table has come and gone.
Catch up quick: AES filed a regulatory rate review with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in June to increase rates for its more than 500,000 Indianapolis-area customers by 13.5% over the next year and a half.
- The company said the increase is needed to cover rising costs as it makes investments to improve service reliability.
Driving the news: More than 20 individuals submitted rebuttal testimony on behalf of AES to the IURC last week, including company president Brandi Davis-Handy.
- In her testimony, Davis-Handy says potential data center development has nothing to do with the current request, maintains that the need to raise rates is out of the company's hands and pushes for "respectful dialogue" with stakeholders as emotions run high.
- The AES president also acknowledges frustration over system updates implemented last year that resulted in billing issues for customers, but disagrees that the company has attempted to downplay the problems.
Zoom in: Addressing the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor criticism that AES has been "inattentive" and "indifferent" about affordability, Davis-Handy said that "characterization does not accurately represent the company, its filing or my direct testimony."
- She goes on to say that while the OUCC may disagree with the AES on policy, "the suggestion that differing viewpoints constitute wrongdoing should be rejected."
- "Rate reviews are driven by facts and require sound analysis," she said. "This is necessary because the price charged for retail electric service is underpinned by the cost incurred to provide the service, and the reality is that much of the cost incurred by the company to provide service is outside the company's control."
Between the lines: Going deeper on affordability, AES director of customer solutions Zac Elliot argued that tracking customers' costs with point-in-time examples and 1,000 kWh/per month averages paints an inaccurate picture, and that "actual bills for AES Indiana's customers are in line with median income growth in Marion County."
- "There is no sound analytical or factual basis to support claims of a widespread affordability crisis," Elliot said.
The other side: Ratepayer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition says nearly half (49%) of AES customers in Indianapolis have been sent a disconnection notice through the first six months of 2025, suggesting residents are struggling to afford the costs.
What's next: The case heads to an evidentiary hearing slated for 9:30am Nov. 3 in room 222 of the PNC Center in downtown Indianapolis.
- Evidentiary hearings are open to the public and livestreamed.
- The IURC is expected to issue a decision in the spring.