The case is docketed at the IURC as Cause Number 45870. 

Indiana-American is seeking to increase its annual revenues by $87 million, or 31%, and has proposed implementing this increase in three steps.

• Step 1 would take effect on or around January 1, 2024
• Step 2 would take effect on or around April 1, 2024
• Step 3 would take effect on or around April 1, 2025

If this rate hike is approved by the IURC, the typical water bill for a customer who uses 4,000 gallons a month would go up $14.47 a month, or about 80¢ a day, when fully implemented in 2025.

Indiana-American wants you to pay more so they can have higher profits

In this case, Indiana-American is asking for a substantial bump in their profit margin, seeking to increase their current authorized return of 9.6% to an astonishing 10.4%. That request has a material impact on the overall rate increase and should be rejected, no questions asked, especially understanding that in 2022, the average return granted investor-owned water utilities in the United States was 9.61%.

Asking to significantly increase profits while consumers are getting crushed and struggling to make ends meet is immoral and unjust. 

Indiana-American Water Company owns 32 public water systems and 5 wastewater systems throughout Indiana.  They serve 328,000 water customers and 2,400 wastewater customers in 23 of Indiana’s 92 counties, which include the cities of Gary, Greenwood, Hobart, Jeffersonville, Kokomo, Merrillville, Muncie, New Albany, Noblesville, Portage, Richmond, Terre Haute, West Lafayette, and others. A complete list of the communities that they serve is available here. 

Indiana-American has made some large capital investments in the distressed utilities they have purchased, such as:

• main replacements and relocations
• meters and hydrants
• new wastewater treatment plants
• lead service line replacements

Additionally, some of the costs included in the increase are related to the acquisition of smaller utilities by Indiana-American Water.  

They have proposed a new allowance-based rate for all residential customers of $20 per month. This new rate would include the monthly fixed meter charge, which is currently set at $15.26 for most residential customers, as well as the first 1,500 gallons of water consumed. Any gallons consumed over 1,500 gallons would be billed on volumetric rates. For a point of reference, the average water customer uses approximately 4,055 gallons per month. 

Despite wanting higher profits, Indiana-American has proposed a robust low-income program in this case. 

Indiana-American has also proposed a robust Universal Service Affordability Tariff in an effort to ensure that all customers, regardless of income, have monthly water bills that do not exceed 2% of their monthly income. The proposed tariff would apply a tiered discount on the total monthly bill of low-income households based on the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).

• Households below 50% of FPL would receive an 80% discount off their monthly bill.
• Households between 50%-100% of FPL would receive discounts of 50% off their monthly bill.
• Households between 100%-150% of FPL would receive discounts of 30% off their monthly bill.