INDIANA — Duke Energy Indiana customers will have opportunities to weigh in on and learn more about the utility’s pending rate increase — which would cost residential customers more than $270 a year — in the coming months.
Duke’s pending request, which requires state approval, would raise rates by almost 19% in two phases, with hikes going into place in 2020 and 2021.
A monthly bill for 1,000 kilowatt-hours would go from $120.30 to $142.95 after full implementation, according to a news release from the company. The rate hike was announced in July.
Duke Energy provides electric service to about 840,000 customers in 69 Indiana counties, including more than 10,000 in Hancock County.
If the rate request is approved, annual operating revenues would rise by $395 million, or about 15.5 percent, after it’s fully phased in.
The utility needs the higher rates to keep up with operating and maintenance costs and capital improvements, the company said. Those costs include deploying advanced metering infrastructure; ash pond closures; remediating coal-fired generating plants; plans to retire coal-fired units earlier than scheduled; vegetation management; electric vehicle incentives; and additional grid technology.
The Citizens Action Coalition, a consumer advocacy organization that focuses in part on utility issues, has taken a dim view of the proposal and has criticized the company for not focusing more on renewable energy. When Duke, the state’s largest electric supplier, filed an outline of its future plans with the state in June, the CAC pointed out it mentioned no imminent investments in energy efficiency initiatives or solar and wind power.
“Duke’s preferred business plan for the next 20 years merely paves the way for higher costs and more pollution,” said Kerwin Olson, the organization’s executive director.
Olson also said the rate increase will sting customers. “We are not sure where Duke Energy thinks many residents will find an extra $23 a month,” Olson was quoted as saying when the rate increase was announced.
The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, which represents consumer interests in matters before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, is reviewing Duke Energy’s request. The utility consumer counselor’s office is scheduled to file testimony on Oct. 30.
The consumer counselor invites written comments from Duke Energy’s residential, commercial and industrial customers through Oct. 23. Customers will also be able to offer comments at IURC public field hearings coming up in Carmel, Terre Haute and New Albany.
Consumers will be able to address the IURC at the meetings under oath and on the record regarding the case. Written comments will also be accepted at the meetings. IURC commissioners aren’t allowed to answer questions about the case, but staff with the utility consumer counselor’s office will be available before, during and after the hearing to address questions about the process.
Written comments for the case record can be submitted at in.gov/oucc/2361.htm and to [email protected]. They can also be mailed to Consumer Services Staff, Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, 115 W. Washington St., Suite 1500 South, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Comments should include the consumer’s name, mailing address and a reference to either IURC Case No. 45253 or Duke Energy.
A final order in the case is expected in April 2020. The utility consumer counselor office posts case updates online at in.gov/oucc/2927.htm.
The IURC approved Duke Energy’s current base rates in 2004, but billing amounts have risen over time because of rate recovery mechanisms called trackers, which the news release states “allow for rate increases or decreases for specific items on an expedited basis.”
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Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission public field hearings on Duke Energy Indiana’s pending rate request
- 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9, at Carmel High School Auditorium, 520 E. Main St., Carmel
- 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, at South High School Auditorium, 3737 S. Seventh St., Terre Haute
- 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1 at New Albany Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. Facilities Services Center, 2801 Grant Line Road, New Albany
Consumers are encouraged to arrive no later than 5:45 p.m. for an overview of field hearing procedures and the rate case process.
Written comments for the case record can be submitted at in.gov/oucc/2361.htm and to [email protected]. They can also be mailed to Consumer Services Staff, Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, 115 W. Washington St., Suite 1500 South, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Comments should include the consumer’s name, mailing address and a reference to either IURC Case No. 45253 or Duke Energy.
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