AES Indiana

Indiana's utility regulatory commission opened an investigation into rising energy costs, questioning the state's five investor-owned utilities at a public hearing as customer complaints hit record levels.

The Indiana state treasurer is calling on federal regulators to review of the new acquisition deal announced to sell Indianapolis’s electric utility company to out-of-state investors.

The utility company created the event as an opportunity for customers to connect with staff and ask questions.

Despite visible community opposition, a proposed 130-acre data center in Decatur Township cleared a key hurdle Thursday, moving one step closer to approval.

The company is contacting customers to correct bills and issue reimbursements.

In an unanimous vote Monday night, the City County Council passed a resolution addressing the power company and also urged state leaders to do more to oppose the company’s request to raise rates, a second year in a row. Last year the state approved AES Indiana to increase rates and the company is currently in the middle of those approved increases.

The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor on Wednesday recommended that state regulators deny AES Indiana’s request for a $193 million base rate increase — instead proposing a $21 million reduction in current rates.

AES Indiana customers may continue to see issues with their electric bills into early fall. That’s when officials with the company told the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission they expect their new billing system to normalize.

A major Indiana utility's rates will not increase as much as originally requested following a settlement agreement Wednesday. The uncontested settlement agreement has been in the works since late last year.

Several state energy and advocacy groups have filed a formal petition to investigate AES Indianas practices and procedures for restoring power after storm outages.