The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission's unprecedented announcement that it would conduct an investigation into soaring utility bills is just the start, Commissioner Andy Zay said.
The IURC is summoning the big five investor-owned utilities, including NIPSCO, for a probe into energy affordability in March. The Investigative Inquiry on Energy Affordability will take place March 24 as the IURC considers next steps to tackle what Zay described as an affordability crisis.
"The IURC by its nature is typically a reactive agency," he said at a press conference. "Causes and cases are brought before us where we are challenged with discerning between the ratepayer and the success of the utility. Certainly, we want our ratepayers' costs to be as little as possible. We also want our utilities to be successful, so when we turn the switch, the lights come on. That balance feels dramatically out of whack right now for many, many Hoosiers."
The utilities will come to Indianapolis for an open discussion about affordability. The IURC will ask questions about rates, billing transparency and "what we have done right and what we have done wrong as a commission," Zay said.
"This is the beginning, not the end, of a process," he said. "I believe this inquiry will allow us to create a foundation of knowledge and information gathering that will allow us to do the next steps."
After the investigative inquiry, Zay plans to tour the state to listen to Hoosiers' concerns about rising utility bills.
At the hearing, each utility will make a short presentation and then take questions from the IURC and the Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor, which advocates on behalf of consumers.
"This is about Hoosiers and letting them know that we're listening," he said. "It took a minute to get to this point. We're beginning a process where we can hopefully bring some resolution. We are here to serve. We are here to do the right thing for Hoosiers and do what we can to answer questions on affordability."
A lot of the cases that contributed to this winter's sky-high bills took place three or four years ago, Zay said.
"About 90% of our work is reactionary to the cases brought before us," he said. "In this case, we're trying to be forward-thinking about what role we can play in affordability. Certainly, we've been challenged with that by our legislators and our governor."
Gov. Mike Braun said he replaced IURC board members in the hope that the regulatory agency would take a more proactive approach to keeping utility bills affordable.
“From the beginning, my administration has been focused on kitchen table issues like affordability," Braun said. "That is why I appointed a strong consumer advocate in the Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor and appointed IURC commissioners focused on ratepayers. This is exactly what I expected to see from my new appointments to the IURC, and I expect Chairman Zay to keep the focus on addressing affordability, transparency and reliability for ratepayers while holding investor-owned utilities accountable."
State Rep. Alex Burton, D-Evansville, said the investigation was the culmination of months of concerns raised by Hoosiers across Indiana.
"Rising energy costs are putting real pressure on families, which in turn is driving action in the legislature and at the IURC," Burton said. "This is one of several efforts with bipartisan support, and it is encouraging to see that alignment focused on addressing energy costs."
Office seekers have called for greater reforms, including tightening the rules on the IURC to stop the automatic approval of rate hikes and having annual rate reviews instead of locking customers into long-term rate increases. State Representative District 20 candidate Juanita Haney, for instance, called for a 3% sales tax cap on utility bills and the end of automatic trackers that allow utilities to increase bills without having to first go through the public process of a rate case.
“Families shouldn't have to choose between heating their homes and buying groceries,” Haney said. “It is time for a Representative who will reform the IURC and end the ‘Tracker’ shell game – the automatic, backdoor rate increases that utilities use to bypass transparency and hike your rates without a full public hearing.”
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