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Indiana Energy Utility Background

  1. CAC Campaigns

The investor-owned utilities in Indiana are regulated monopolies, and they each have an exclusive service territory. Inside this geographical region, they are the ONLY utility that is allowed to serve that area.

It is illegal for anybody else to try to compete with them.  They are guaranteed those customers and they are guaranteed a profit.  In Indiana, their profits average about 10%.  

 

There are 5 investor-owned monopoly electric utilities (IOUs) in Indiana.

Clicking on the name of each utility will take you to a breakdown of an average electric bill for that utility. 

  • I&M (AEP) - Indiana Michigan is a subsidiary of American Electric Power. I&M provides electricity to Northeast Indiana. They have about 470,000 customers in Indiana, with about 410,000 of those being residential customers.
  • NIPSCO Electric - Northern Indiana Public Service Company provides electricity to Northwest Indiana.  Their parent company is NiSource. They have 477,000 customers in Indiana, with 415,000 of those being residential customers.
  • AES Indiana - formerly Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL); provides electricity to the Indianapolis area. They have 511,000 customers, in Indiana, with 450,000 of those being residential customers.
  • CenterPoint Electric - formerly Vectren; provides electricity to Southwest Indiana.  Vectren was created out of a merger between Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Company (SIGECO) and Indiana Gas. They have 148,000 customers in Indiana, with 130,000 of those being residential customers.
  • Duke Energy - provides electricity to most of Indiana, especially Central Indiana.  They started as Public Service Indiana (PSI), which was then bought by Cinergy, which was then acquired by Duke Energy. They have 852,000 customers in Indiana, with 750,000 of those being residential customers.
  • The Indiana Energy Association map shows the service territories and electric generating facilities (including fossil fuel power plants and renewable resources) of Indiana’s investor-owned monopoly electric companies. The Indiana Energy Association is the lobbying group for these electric and gas utilities at the Indiana Statehouse.

 

There are also many municipal or city-owned electric utilities across the state, as well as Rural Electric Membership Cooperatives (REMCs), which mainly serve rural areas.  Many of the municipal utilities are members of the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA), and all of the REMCs are members of the Indiana Electric Cooperatives (IEC). IMPA and IEC are lobbying groups for the municipals and the REMCs at the Indiana Statehouse.

These municipals and REMCs largely do not generate their own electricity. Most of the municipals purchase their power from IMPA. Most of the REMC's purchase their electricity from Indiana's large electric wholesale companies: Hoosier Energy and Wabash Valley. Some of the municipals and REMCs also purchase electricity from the IOUs.

 

Campaign Tools

There are three investor-owned monopoly natural gas utilities in Indiana:

  • NIPSCO Gas - Most people who have NIPSCO or AEP as their electric utility also have NIPSCO as their natural gas utility.  NIPSCO provides natural gas to most of Northern Indiana and serves about 771,000 customers.
  • CenterPoint Gas, North and South - As a natural gas utility, CenterPoint is divided into North and South. Most people who have Duke Energy as their electric utility also have CenterPoint North as their natural gas utility, which has about 625,000 customers. Most people who have CenterPoint as their electric utility also have CenterPoint South as their natural gas utility, which has about 114,000 customers.

There is one large natural gas company in Indiana that is a nonprofit charitable trust:

  • Citizens Energy Group - provides natural gas to Indianapolis.  Citizens Energy is unique because it is a not-for-profit charitable trust.  It does not have shareholders.  Any profits it makes are supposed to be returned to ratepayers in the form of rate reductions. Citizens Energy has about 279,000 gas customers.

Together, NIPSCO, CenterPoint, and Citizens have about 95% of Indiana's natural gas customers.

 

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC)

In exchange for being completely shielded from the “free market” and from competition, all of the investor-owned utilities in Indiana are regulated by the IURC.

  • The IURC's primary function is to act as surrogate to competition.
  • The IURC is comprised of 5 commissioners. Each commissioner serves a 4-year term, and 1 commissioner must be an attorney.
  • The IURC commissioners are appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
  • No more than 3 commissioners may be members of the same political party.

 

The Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC)

The Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) is charged by law to represent consumer interests in Indiana.

The Consumer Counselor:

  • Heads the agency
  • Must be an attorney
  • Is appointed for 4-year terms by, and serves at the pleasure of the Governor
  • Is the statutory representative of the public before the IURC

 

Investor-Owned Electric Utilities serve 75% of Indiana customers and account for:

  • 78% of total electric sales
  • 77% of total revenue collected

 

The remaining customers are served by:

40 Rural Electric Cooperatives (REMC or Co-Op)

      • None of the REMCs are subject to the jurisdiction of the IURC.
      • The largest is South Central Indiana REMC, with approx. 33,000 customers.

72 Municipal Electric Utilities

    • Only 8 of the 72 municipal utilities are subject to the jurisdiction of the IURC regarding basic rates & charges.
    • The largest is Anderson Municipal Light and Power, with approx. 35,000 customers.

 

IURC Indiana Utility Guide (PDF)

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