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Citizen Power | April 2026

Citizen Power Newsletters

Welcome  ~  News & Views  ~  Data Center Digest  ~  CAC Shoutout  ~  CAC in the News  ~  Upcoming Events

 

Welcome

NIPSCO Webinar March 2026Welcome to CAC's Citizen Power, our newly relaunched monthly newsletter! With so much happening these days, we thought this newsletter could help keep you informed on the many things that are happening and how CAC is engaging on behalf of supporters like you. 

 

There is no question that utility affordability has reached a crisis point in Indiana. One particularly egregious example is the enormous electric and natural gas rate increases approved in recent years by the IURC for NIPSCO’s residential customers, a topic CAC addressed at length in a recent webinar.

 

NIPSCO electric and gas bills from 2016 to 2026As shown in the figures here, in a two-year span, an electric bill for 1,000 kWh spiked by $83 (49%), and a natural gas bill of 100 therms climbed by $36 (42%).

 

Hoosier families can’t keep up with bill increases of this magnitude and pace.

 

Skyrocketing utility bills like those experienced by NIPSCO customers are leading to a renewed focus on residential affordability. However, despite the increased attention from policymakers, it is unclear when – if ever – meaningful utility bill relief will come to Hoosiers.

 

As described more below, while the enactment of HEA1002 is a good start, Indiana’s electric utilities continue to propose rate increases, and in some cases, outright overcharge Hoosier consumers.

 

Indiana is also being hit with an avalanche of AI data center proposals from big tech companies like Amazon and Meta, each of which could use an entire city’s worth of power. Tens of billions in new electric infrastructure will be spent in the coming years to serve them, raising concerns about whether big tech will ultimately pay its fair share despite raking in billions in state and local tax subsidies.

 

Click here to help with a contribution and help us fight for Hoosiers!Powerful monopoly interests – from utilities to big tech companies – are a growing threat to affordability, environmental sustainability, and even our democracy. We’re committed to fighting back and stand in solidarity with Hoosiers as we protect our homes, our families, and our communities.

 

This is a pivotal moment for Hoosiers. So much is on the line. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to seize this moment to protect Hoosiers. 

 

- The CAC Team

 

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News & Views

 

~  Governor Braun Signs HEA1002 As Utility Affordability Crisis Worsens  ~

Visual voting records: Legislative rate hikes over the past decade-ish. Click on the image to check out the Facebook post.In a huge win for Hoosier consumers, the new law requires Indiana’s electric utilities to invest 0.2% of their residential revenues in a low-income customer assistance program every year beginning in 2027. It also creates reporting requirements for electric utilities on key affordability metrics, such as disconnections for missing a payment. The new law also requires utilities to file three-year rate plans on a staggered schedule, beginning with I&M this summer followed by Duke Energy Indiana in December, and creates very modest performance incentives – or penalties – based on outage restoration times and the utility’s changes to rates relative to the national average over a five-year period.

 

CAC’s Take: We’ve been advocating for several of the policies included in the new law for many years, so we are especially proud of this legislative achievement and are grateful to Rep. Shonkwiler for her collaboration and leadership in ushering this bill through the General Assembly.

 

 

~  IURC Holds Investigative Inquiry on Energy Affordability  ~ 

Click here to view the IURC affordability inquiry on YouTube.On March 24, the IURC held an Investigative Inquiry on Energy Affordability, the first stage of its informal investigation into Indiana's affordability crisis. At the Inquiry, Indiana's investor-owned electric utilities - Duke, NIPSCO, I&M, AES Indiana, and CenterPoint - gave presentations, followed by questions from IURC Commissioners and the OUCC Counselor.

 

Notable topics covered include: 

  • The Commission asked each utility if they supported a comprehensive review of bill trackers, signaling additional scrutiny of bill surcharges like CWIP and TDSIC that have been driving bills higher. 

     

  • IURC Listening Sessions 2026NIPSCO stated that investment in its coal-fired power plant - the R.M. Schahfer Generating Station - could exceed $100 million to keep the power plant operating, pursuant to U.S. Department of Energy orders.

     

  • AES Indiana confirmed that it was in negotiations with one or more data center customers and anticipated making regulatory filings soon. 

    The Commission called out NIPSCO’s and AES Indiana’s abysmal track records on customer complaints. The Commission noted that more than half of all of the very high volume of complaints it has received from consumers this year have been with NIPSCO, and that AES Indiana has not been timely in responding to the Commission regarding its substantial volume of complaints.

 

CAC’s Take: It is encouraging to see the IURC set a new tone and question our major electric utilities on their unaffordable service. That said, meaningful action and follow-through to address the deepening affordability crisis across Indiana is desperately needed, and it is unclear when it is coming.

 

Unlike a docketed case, this informal inquiry was not presided over by a judge, there was no court reporter to record the event, utility representatives were not sworn in, and other stakeholders – including CAC – were not invited to participate.

 

Utility representatives dodged many questions or gave incomplete and deceptive answers (e.g., about their lobbying expenditures). The unprecedented and heavy-handed presence of law enforcement and security personnel, combined with an IURC hearing room that is too small to accommodate meaningful public attendance, did not create a welcoming environment for public and stakeholder in-person viewing. 

 

 

~  CAC Files Testimony Opposing NIPSCO-Amazon Deal and Massive Gas Plant  ~

Ben Inskeep tweets about the NIPSCO Amazon IURC settlementCAC is the only party opposing a settlement agreement that would approve a special contract between NIPSCO and Amazon for a shocking 2,400 MW of new data centers, including a 1,500 MW data center already announced for Hobart in Cause No. 46322.

 

In our testimony filed March 18, we continue to raise concerns about Amazon not paying its fair share. While the specific amount Amazon will pay for service is redacted, CAC’s analysis shows it could shortchange NIPSCO ratepayers by a stunning $2.5 billion over the 15-year term.

 

CAC also filed testimony on March 19 opposing a 2,600 MW natural gas expansion at the R.M. Schahfer Generating Station site in Cause No. 46362. The new natural gas power plants will consume approximately 16 million gallons of water per day and emit as much as 7 million tons of climate pollution per year. Although Amazon will pay for the cost of the power plant, the environmental toll is substantial and will be borne by Hoosiers.

 

CAC’s Take: It is unacceptable that all of the energy to power Amazon’s new data centers is coming from new fossil fuel power plants that will last 30+ years, and that NIPSCO is keeping the details of the arrangement, including the rates paid by Amazon, secret. CAC’s analysis shows that Amazon will not pay its fair share for using the existing system, highlighting the lack of follow-through on the Ratepayer Protection Pledge signed by Big Tech companies.

 

 

~  AES Corp. Bought by BlackRock-Led Consortium  ~

November 2025 Axios Indianapolis article about Blackrock buying AESAES Corp. will go from a publicly traded company to a private company after being acquired by a consortium including BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partnership and EQT Infrastructure VI, along with co-underwriters California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and Qatar Investment Authority. AES Indiana’s majority owner is currently and will continue to be AES Corp.

 

CAC’s Take: The acquisition of AES highlights an alarming trend by private equity gobbling up utilities and infrastructure companies. Private equity owners are even more likely to put unreasonable expectations on utilities like AES Indiana to wring more profit out of its ratepayers. Yet, Indiana is one of the only states in the country where such acquisitions of a utility’s parent company do not have to be approved by state regulators, leaving consumers vulnerable. 

 

 

~  CenterPoint Raises Rates Again, Retaking Dubious Distinction as Most Expensive Residential Bills  ~

Ben Inskeep tweet about CenterPoint rate hike March 2026CenterPoint is implementing the second step of its rate hike approved by the IURC last year in its rate case. A residential customer using 1,000 kWh will see their bill increase from about $239 to $248, a $9.21 (3.9%) increase (including sales tax). 

 

CAC’s Take: In October 2025, CenterPoint publicly promised to stabilize its rates through 2027. This big rate hike doesn’t feel very “stabilizing” to us – unless you are talking about stabilizing CenterPoint’s profits. While it’s hardly surprising to see CenterPoint over-promise and under-deliver, Hoosiers in southwest Indiana deserve better. No wonder CenterPoint was ranked near last of any utility in the country in 2025 on residential customer satisfaction.

 

 

~  NIPSCO Admits It Has Been Double-Charging More than 3,500 Gas Customers and Waited 1 Year to Tell Regulators  ~

March 2026 Chicago Tribune article about NIPSCO gas overcharging customersIn November 2025, the IURC opened an investigation into NIPSCO after meeting with the utility and learning about an issue with NIPSCO’s gas meters, but the nature and extent of the issue were unclear – until now.

 

In testimony filed on March 6, NIPSCO stated that it had discovered that nearly 1% of its legacy gas meters have been double-charging customers for an undetermined amount of time, but potentially since the meters were first installed years ago. NIPSCO says it first learned about the problem in October 2024 thanks to AMI communication modules it is deploying on meters, and this new technology can detect if the legacy meters have the problem. However, it then waited until fall 2025 to inform the Commission. Now, it is proposing to only refund affected customers for one year of overcharges.

 

CAC’s Take: When utilities fail to accurately meter and bill customers, it severely damages the public trust in their ability to provide adequate service. In this case, it also has been severely harming affordability for the thousands of NIPSCO Gas customers who were forced to pay bills that were nearly twice as high as they should have been. CAC has intervened in the case and will file our testimony and recommendations to the Commission in May. 

 

 

~  OUCC and Industrials to IURC: Duke Energy Indiana Is Overcharging Customers by $89 Million  ~

Click here to help with a contribution and help us fight for Hoosiers!In Cause Number 46038, the OUCC and a group of industrial customers are asking the IURC to force Duke Energy Indiana to refund $89 million in overcharges that Duke Energy Indiana added to ratepayer bills last year. The parties allege that Duke Energy Indiana failed to correctly implement the Commission’s decision in its last rate case and charged customers - including residential customers - higher rates than were authorized by the IURC. The parties also seek an $86.5 million reduction in Duke Energy Indiana’s proposed Step 2 rates going forward, among other corrections.

 

CAC’s Take: Utilities are required to get IURC approval to change their rates. When they implement unauthorized rate increases that significantly exceed what the Commission allowed, they are not only undermining affordability, they are breaking the law. The IURC should take swift action to ensure Duke Energy Indiana ratepayers are fully refunded any overcharges – with interest – and aren’t being overcharged for service now.

 

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Data Center Digest

Indiana proposed data centers as of Jan 2026A brief roundup of data center news items from the past month.

 

 

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CAC Shoutout

CAC shoutout to EarthjusticeThis month, we give a shoutout to our incredible partners at Earthjustice, the premier nonprofit public interest environmental law organization.

 

The most recent example of Earthjustice’s instrumental advocacy on behalf of Hoosiers is representing CAC and other advocates in lawsuits filed with other partner organizations in March in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the U.S. District Court.

 

Our lawsuits are challenging recent unlawful “emergency” orders issued by the U.S. Department of Energy directing the continued operation of coal-fired power plants at NIPSCO’s Schahfer plant (Wheatfield, IN) and CenterPoint’s Culley plant (Newburgh, IN). The utilities had been planning to retire these power plants in 2025, and have already built replacement generation. The continued operation of the aging and highly unreliable coal plants will be expensive and highly polluting.

 

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CAC in the News

CAC has experienced a huge increase in requests from the media recently. Here are a few examples of the dozens of times CAC has been in the media this past month.

 

 

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Upcoming Events

 

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Please send tips and corrections for Citizen Power to Ben Inskeep, binskeep@citact.org.

 

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