Lindsay Shipps Haake: No ifs ands or buts: Utility consumers are screwed

Back in the day, when I was a little baby staffer at the Indiana House of Representatives, one of my many gigs was staffing the House Utilities Committee under then-Chair Win Moses, D-Fort Wayne. That was back when our utility rates were somewhat “affordable,” and Hoosiers were still able to determine their energy destiny by choosing energy-efficiency initiatives or proven technologies like wind, solar and demand reduction.

Fast forward to today; utility bills are averaging twice what they were just two decades ago, thanks to the utility-friendly Legislature. Statehouse utilities committees have eroded any consumer-friendly options that allow customers any chance at managing their energy costs, putting investor-owned utility companies squarely in control of the process and the conversation.

According to the state agency that tracks this data, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, the average electric bill is climbing well into the $200-a-month range for the average residential customer. And those figures are a monthly average from last year and do not include any pending rate increases (AES Indiana, I’m looking at you).

Amid this affordability conversation, it goes without saying that affordability is in the eye of the beholder—and that mere fact is by design here in the Hoosier state, where legislators have neglected defining the word as it pertains to utility bills in Indiana law. Never mind that other states have moved forward with percentage of income payment plans, also known as PIPPs, to help guide utilities in their ratemaking decisions. I can hear the scoffs in the basement utilities committees at the mere suggestion of putting consumers in the driver’s seat to lower costs—alas, a PIPP would be too much regulation for Indiana utility regulators or the legislators in charge of writing responsible laws to give consumers some much-needed relief.

Make no bones about it, investor-owned utilities have it just fine—they are shielded from competition and sell services we need to live in a healthy, modern society. At the same time, investor-owned utilities earn a rate of return on every dollar they spend, so the more money they spend, the more money they make. You might have heard us consumer advocates rail about this at the Statehouse, so I’ll just give it to you straight from Citizens Action Coalition:

“In exchange for the privilege of being monopolies, utilities are regulated by the IURC. The IURC’s primary function is to act as a surrogate to competition, but legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly has fundamentally changed how we regulate utilities here in Indiana. Unaffordable utility service compromises public health and disproportionately impacts marginalized communities.”

And the Indiana General Assembly has done nothing but exacerbate the crisis by putting an end to programs and policies that help Hoosiers save money and control their energy use, like net metering for rooftop solar and Energizing Indiana, a successful statewide energy-efficiency program.

It’s beyond time to put consumers in control of their energy destiny and get the fox out of the henhouse by electing the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission so Hoosiers might have just a hint of accountability.•

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Haake is a government affairs and public relations strategist at Onward & Upward Strategies. Send comments to [email protected].

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