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Indiana consumers continue to get hit with rising utility bills.
Costs for families are going up all over the place, especially in utility bills. Households served by Indiana’s major energy utilities saw average bill increases of 18% in to 2025; Hoosiers paid $28 more per month on average in 2025 than in 2024.
One culprit of higher bills is that the supply of electricity is being outpaced by the growth in demand. Indiana’s annual energy demand is projected to more than double by 2035.
State leaders can take steps to mitigate rising energy costs. Indiana utility customers would save $3.6 billion on their bills between now and 2035 if the state accelerated development of advanced energy projects to fill the supply gap, according to a new independent analysis from Synapse Energy Economics. Building more advanced energy generation in Indiana would lead to average cumulative residential bill savings of $90-$410 per customer over the modeled period, depending on where in Indiana the customer lives.
Advanced energy generation is a powerful tool in the fight for energy affordability. These technologies are more affordable in part because they don’t have fuel costs. But in addition, wind, solar and battery storage can be built faster than any other resource and could quickly inject more power into the energy grid. Right now, thousands of megawatts of proposed projects are waiting to be built in Indiana.
Unfortunately, successful deployment in Indiana faces a roadblock: It is tough to build new energy projects because businesses view the state’s permitting system as a huge risk. They face patchwork regulations that vary from county to county, long delays in processing applications and arbitrary restrictions when they try to invest in Indiana’s critical energy supply.
The state needs one understandable policy that all stakeholders — including communities, local governments, developers and landowners — can follow. Last year, Indiana legislators passed and Gov. Mike Braun signed Senate Enrolled Act 425, attempting to provide predictability and clarity for businesses by streamlining permitting processes. But it applied only to certain types of projects. The legislation also placed a one-year limit on local moratoriums on wind, solar and battery storage projects.
However, counties have continued to impose restrictions so severe that they act as moratoriums and prevent energy generation companies from building new resources. This bill was a step in the right direction but did not significantly reduce the risks for all types of project developers.
The governor has repeatedly acknowledged the need for more in-state energy supply and need to protect consumers. He cited energy affordability as a key concern for the state. Last year, during a fireside chat, Braun said, “Indiana is uniquely positioned to be the national leader in energy generation. To ensure affordable prices for ratepayers, we must increase energy supply.” The Indiana General Assembly is taking action to improve energy affordability. Legislation pending in the General Assembly, House Bill 1002, is aimed at curbing consumer costs by creating affordability performance metrics for electric utilities.
More can be done. Indiana decision-makers have multiple tools to use as part of an affordability solution. While time is running short for the 2026 legislative session, state leaders can still develop and enact reforms to cut regulatory red tape for businesses that want to invest in Indiana and for landowners who want to supplement their income by partnering with project owners.
This much-needed legislation would modernize the rules so Indiana can build more in-state power generation, reducing its reliance on importing power from other states to secure adequate supply. Doing so would help ease the price increases on Hoosier households.•
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Demeter is a managing director with Advanced Energy United, a trade association for businesses delivering affordable, clean, and reliable energy and transportation solutions.
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