Hunter Jones, Executive Director Indiana Conservative Alliance for Energy, Indiana Capital Chronicle
Indiana entrepreneurs need low-cost, reliable power.
Gov. Mike Braun has pledged to be the entrepreneurial governor, but that vision will require reliable, affordable electricity to come to fruition, and the infrastructure to carry it.
That means building more power plants and the transmission lines needed to transport the electrons to economic demand centers. But while Indiana and other Midwestern stakeholders have engaged in a years-long evaluation of infrastructure solutions to meet the region’s needs, culminating in a transmission portfolio that will deliver historic benefits, out-of-state interests are now seeking to block the very development needed to enable entrepreneurial growth.
The Midwestern grid operator (MISO) is a national leader in transmission planning and has developed a plan to meet the region’s needs. After 300 meetings and 40,000 hours of staff time in development, MISO approved a portfolio of power lines in late 2024 that will help ensure reliable, affordable power for decades to come. That decision followed rounds of feedback and expansive stakeholder outreach among the states in the region, including Indiana.
All told, the portfolio is expected to deliver $72 billion in net benefits over the power lines’ first two decades in service, saving residents up to $3 for every dollar invested. In Indiana, the projects are expected to create upwards of 7,100 direct local jobs and spur up to $2.6 billion in total economic output.
Opposition states
Yet the public service commissions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Montana filed a federal complaint seeking to derail the portfolio, arguing MISO used a flawed cost-benefit analysis. The filing comes nearly eight months after the grid operator approved the portfolio and nearly two years after planning was underway with the methodology in question. Notably, the southern states will not pay for the projects, as their costs will be distributed only among the states where they are constructed.
This complaint serves only as an attempted roadblock to halt the projects Indiana needs. Our governor has warned that the state does not have enough power to meet growing demand. And power bills are skyrocketing. From 2024 to 2025, Indiana families saw a 17.5% increase on their monthly power bill, about $28 more on average.
Constructing these lines is critical to positioning Midwestern states to “attract investment, create jobs, and maintain leadership in emerging technologies and industrial innovation,” as Indiana’s Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources Suzanne Jaworowski told federal regulators. She also touted Indiana’s steadfast support of the portfolio, acknowledging it will avoid “costly inefficiencies” and enable access to all generation resources across the Midwest.
These resources are critical to sustaining economic growth. With manufacturing comprising more than 26% of the state’s GDP, Indiana’s industrial sector is the greatest electricity-consuming industry. Our state is the national leader in steelmaking as well as vehicle manufacturing, having produced about 84% of recreational vehicles sold in 2023. Further growth in these energy-intensive sectors will require considerably more electricity. But without additional transmission capacity, that growth could strain the grid, resulting in even higher electricity prices and increased risk of power outages. Building a well-planned grid is imperative to meeting challenges for decades to come.
Enabling big business for the future will require smart infrastructure decisions now. Continued investment depends upon the availability of reliable, affordable electricity that will help ensure Indiana remains an attractive place for entrepreneurial leaders.
Ultimately, Indiana joined other Midwestern stakeholders to craft a plan that will serve our collective needs. Hoosier leaders are committed to ensuring reliable, affordable, secure power, and the federal government has no business stepping in the way of our forward progress. While other states may choose alternative energy solutions, Indiana remains committed to building a grid that will enable economic prosperity well into the future.