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Indiana House panel amends utility rate bill

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Indiana manufacturers and consumer groups opposed to a bill that would make it easier for power companies to raise their rates won concessions Wednesday from House lawmakers trying to strike a balance between the needs of businesses and the utilities.

The House Utilities & Energy Committee passed the bill sponsored by Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek, after its chairman, Rep. Eric Koch, proposed several amendments to address business and ratepayer concerns, The Indianapolis Star reported.

The amendments include a cap on the amount of rate increase utilities can seek for upgrades such as new power lines and natural gas lines, and a reduction of temporary rate hikes that utilities would be allowed to implement if state regulators don't decide on a proposed rate increase within the new deadlines.

Consumer groups and big companies such as Eli Lilly and Co. and Honda have contended the bill as originally proposed would drive up energy bills and could push manufacturers out of the state.

"It presents a significant obstacle to us being able to do business in Indiana," said Chris Olsen, vice president of government affairs at Tate & Lyle, a manufacturer of high-fructose corn syrup. "We operate in other states with much lower costs."

Indiana's utilities say the legislation would simply accelerate rate increases, not make those increases larger. The bill would allow utilities to seek rate increases for upgrades such as replacing power lines or natural gas pipelines more frequently through a more limited review process known as "tracking."

Ed Simcox, president of the Indiana Energy Association, the trade group for the state's investor-owned utilities, said new federal environmental regulations and Indiana's dependence on coal are to blame for rising costs.

"There is nothing in this bill that increases costs to the consumer," he said.

But the state's big manufacturing companies, which employ thousands of Indiana residents, have feared the bill would add to already rising electric rates.

The companies have seen Indiana electricity rates shoot up nearly 62 percent over the last 10 years. Residential rates have increased 47 percent.

"Our annual (energy) bill is in the tens of millions of dollars," said Olsen, the Tate & Lyle official. "Energy as a whole is our second largest cost of doing business. If we had the same rates in Indiana that we have in Illinois, we'd be saving millions a year."

AARP Indiana President Clyde Hall testified against the bill during the House panel's hearing Wednesday.

"Any time there's any legislation that's going to raise rates, it's going to get our concern," he said. "Allowing the utility companies an easier and faster way to raise rates ... is not in the best interest of those on fixed incomes."

Jennifer Terry, who represents a group of 23 Indiana manufacturers that had opposed the bill, said the group had changed its position to neutral after the amendments.

"The amendments do go a ways toward addressing our concerns," she said.

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  1. As a St. Vincent employee of over 20 years, I am saddened and disheartened by this announcement. Unfortunately, as the healthcare "industry" continues on this political and corporate path, all that St. Vincent Hospital has stood for spiritually for its employees and this community is being sucked dry. I know it truly has no choice. It is not just Obamacare or just competition or just any single thing. This trend started long before I was even born when the government became involved in healthcare and it became an "industry." I grieve for those who will lose their jobs, one of whom may be me, but I also grieve for this hospital which I have served for over 20 years. May God give us and it the grace to withstand the future of healthcare.

  2. Why do people constantly harp on this issue and act ignorant about what a city population measures? A city's population is the city's population. There is no argument or debate about it. If you want to measure the density of a city--measure it. If you want to measure the size of a metropolitan area, then measure the metropolitan population. City boundaries cover different sized areas--and they always have (though the disparity has probably increased since about 1900 or so when more cities began annexing their surrounding communities). For example, San Francisco only covers 49 square miles while Houston cover nearly 600 square miles. No one argues about the population rankings of either city even though they clearly cover extremely different sized areas. Indianapolis is the 13 largest city by population in the U.S. That is a fact. While the population of a metropolitan area may give you a better sense of how large a community is, as noted, even metro areas can vary widely in the size of geographic area they cover--so that is not a perfect comparison either.

  3. If Whole Foods went in, I doubt the Nora one would stay open, and with all those customers coming to Broad Ripple traffic would be horrible, and forget about a run to the grocery on weekend nights. I think concern over the number of apartments is misplaced, but the 400 space parking garage has me concerned - someone needs to ask the developer just how much traffic they think this development is going to generate. I am not against more neighborhood residents, but heavy commercial traffic going in and out at that location sounds like a mess.

  4. I thought everyone was innocent until guilt was proven. Seems people have already convicted Reggie in the press. My nephew was a good kid and is a good man, more to this story im sure

  5. Going by the Marion County population only is of little use. 13th largest? No Way! To judge the real size of a metro area, the easy way is to look at the Arbitron rating list. Indianapolis hovers around 40th largest in the nation--sometimes more, sometimes less. Advertisers want to know exactly how large the population is before they buy radio advertising. Arbitron figured it out long ago. Indianapolis is estimated at 1,427,500. The real #13 is Seattle-Tacoma with a metro population of 3,470,400. So, the population of just Marion County is completely irrelevant to anything useful as far as metro area planning.

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