Following a study by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC), the House Committee on Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications met Dec. 4 to discuss and take suggestions on House Bill 1041—legislation that defines the standards and requirements for utility or communications service facilities in the “public right-of-way.”
The earlier-than-usual meeting comes as part of the Indiana General Assembly’s special session—which Gov. Mike Braun called for in attempts to push a mid-decade redistricting effort.
The committee heard suggestions and information on performance-based rate making (PBR) within the state’s utility landscape. PBR incentivizes utilities to meet performance-based goals and determines rates accordingly.
Hoosiers saw a 17.5% increase in their electric bills this year, a study by Citizens Action Coalition (CAC) said. This may be the highest increase since 2005. Back in July, Kerwin Olson, executive director for CAC, told the Indy Star that this is threatening affordability for Indiana residents.
State lawmakers now look toward the PBR initiatives of 17 other states and Washington, D.C., as an inspiration for HB 1041 to counter rising utility costs, said Rep. Alaina Shonkwiler, R-Noblesville.
Shonkwiler told the committee that PBR would shift incentives from capital investment, infrastructure and project creation to keeping the lights on, responding efficiently to outages and maintaining affordability. HB 1041 includes measures such as strengthening utility assistance programs to support more predictable monthly bills for low-income households.
“These are meaningful protections for the Hoosiers that need them most,” Shonkwiler said. “This is not full-scale PBR. This is an incremental step toward aligning performance.”
Rep. Alex Burton, D-Evansville, suggested publishing a metric that captures the average bill cost on an annual basis to better illustrate rate increases for the public.
“Those numbers, I think, really matter as we look to really capture the essence of affordability,” Burton said.
The committee plans to find a way to mitigate “bill shock” when consumers’ energy bills increase in line with their usage from extreme heat or cold, Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, said.
