AES Indiana rate hike heads back to regulators
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The controversial $71 million AES Indiana rate increase is headed back to state utility regulators with a hearing set for next week in downtown Indy.
Why it matters: The IURC's decision to reconsider the case with a reshuffled lineup gives hope to the more than 500,000 customers who have been bracing for even bigger electric bills since last summer.
Catch up quick: The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition filed separate petitions for a rehearing following the rate hike's 3-1 approval on June 17.
- AES initially sought nearly $193 million in a rate review first filed in June 2025.
State of play: The IURC granted the OUCC's petition to reconsider the increase, and the CAC's request concerning Google's planned Monrovia data center and the pending BlackRock-led acquisition of AES' parent company.
- Regulators said those developments could affect AES Indiana's revenues, investment needs, financial outlook and cost of equity.
The intrigue: The case has become unusually tangled. Andy Zay, one of the three commissioners who approved the June increase, was removed as IURC chair by Gov. Mike Braun days later and fired from the commission Aug. 3.
- David Veleta, another June yes vote, resigned. Joshua Bain and Joby Jerrells subsequently joined the commission.
- Commissioner David Ziegner, the only yes vote still standing, said the rehearing isn't necessary.
- He argued in case filings that the original order properly considered the factors, including an enhanced emphasis on affordability, and said the Google project belongs in a separate proceeding.
What's next: The commission will hold a public prehearing conference and preliminary hearing on Sept. 17 in room 222 of the PNC Center to establish a procedural schedule for the case going forward.
- The commission says it can uphold, modify, clarify, reopen or reverse its order after rehearing.