Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission conducts investigative inquiry, questions NIPSCO and I&M Power

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The five biggest utility companies in Indiana were all present, presenting 10-to-15-minute slideshows and answering commissioners' questions. NIPSCO and I&M Power also shared a presentation and answered questions.

The following companies appeared before the commissioners:

• NIPSCO
• I&M Power
• AES Indiana
• Duke Energy Company
• CenterPoint Energy Indiana

Each session was slated to run for an hour. There were three to five representatives for each company.

NIPSCO had five representatives:

• Vince Parisi, NIPSCO President and COO
• Robbie Sears
• Rufus Jackson
• Jim Zucal
• Martina Marko, NIPSCO Customer Care Advisors Manager

The IURC questioned NIPSCO about a range of topics, including delivery fees which typically cost more than the actual service they're providing to Hoosiers. Parisi broke down what makes up that delivery fee.

"We’ve been relatively blessed. The last few years the cost of energy has been coming down when it comes to natural gas in the market for example so there were times where you know the MCF of natural gas might be $14 or more. We’ve been at a much more stable place where it’s $3, $4, $5 in MCF," Parisi explained.

"When you look at the energy part of your bill alone, that is really just paying for that part of the bill, of the actual energy that you’re using as well as some of the fees and costs to get that energy to our system. When you look at our delivery charge, or on the electric side, the energy charge, you’re talking about everything else that it takes to be able to make sure the customer has that reliable energy when they need it. So, it’s a difficult explanation," he continued.

Martina Marko followed up, sharing detailed worksheets explaining those fees are sent to customers, but only when it's requested by the customer. She says at the moment, the monthly bill can't be changed to include the delivery fee breakdown, but says they're looking to send it as a separate sheet along with the monthly bill.

NIPSCO's meeting ran a few minutes over time due to questions from the commissioners. Once NIPSCO was done, ABC57 waited to speak with Parisi when a woman informed us that Parisi will not be available for interviews and instead handed us this statement that many Hoosiers recently received.

I&M Power was up next after NIPSCO.

There were three representatives:

• Steve Baker
• Katie Runkle, I&M Power Vice President of External Affairs and Customer Experience
• Andrew Williamson

They went through a similar line of questioning. One of the questions was about a cost benefit analysis. One commissioner mentioned a cost-benefit analysis which shows each kilowatt hour saved is still somehow costing rate payers more money. Runkle responded to the question.

"We do a cost-benefit analysis for all of our programs, and obviously when we go through the regulatory process, there are many different stakeholders involved, and everyone has different ideas of what's the right kind of program. We are trying to balance all those viewpoints as to what everyone thinks is best for customers."

Shortly after their meeting, I&M Power sent out this statement.

Both NIPSCO and I&M Power had their meetings after the lunch break. During the lunch break, IURC Chairman, Andy Zay, took time to speak with media. Zay was asked if he foresees legislative recommendations to come from the investigative inquiry.

"Oh absolutely. We already started that with 1002," Zay responded.

HOUSE ENROLLED ACT 1002

'1002' refers to House Enrolled Act or HEA 1002. It's an energy utility bill signed into law on Feb. 26. The bill's goal was to make energy more affordable for the average Hoosier. HEA 1002 was written to do the following:

Beginning with the first monthly billing cycle that begins after June 30, 2026, apply a levelized billing plan to all active residential customer accounts, including to an eligible household that has applied for assistance from the state's home energy assistance program.
Not later than April 1 offers each customer a mechanism by which the customer may opt out of a plan at any time without penalty.
Not later than July 1 for any plan offered by the electricity supplier and applied to an active customer account, amend or design the plan so that plan's account reconciliation mechanism is applied at such times during a calendar year to reflect typical seasonal patterns of electricity usage by residential customers, but not more than two times during a calendar year.
Prohibits an electricity supplier from referring to or promoting a levelized billing plan as a "budget billing plan" unless the levelized billing plan also provides other specified forms of relief for customers.
Authorizes the IURC to adopt rules to implement these provisions.

You can view the law here.

Zay mentioned there were four legislators in attendance today and was confident many more were viewing the live stream. He was asked what his message was to Hoosiers following today's sessions.

"I don't think it's just about today for those folks; this is certainly what we call phase one. Phase two will be going on the street next week, I know a lot of those meetings have already been happening throughout the state, but I'm looking forward to going and meeting the Hoosiers where they are and hopefully some of those folks can attend those sessions and we can hear from them directly. Not only here from them, see their bills.

IURC LISTENING SESSIONS ON ENERGY AFFORDABILITY

The IURC is hosting "listening sessions" in the upcoming weeks where they plan to meet Hoosiers to hear their concerns and view their bills for themselves.

The listening session schedule is as follows:

Thursday, March 26 – La Porte Civic Auditorium (1001 Ridge St, La Porte) – CST
Saturday, March 28 – Syracuse Town Hall (310 N Huntington St, Syracuse) – 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 1 – Elkhart Co. Fairgrounds – Community Center (17746-D County Rd 34, Goshen)
Thursday, April 2 – Columbus City Hall – Cal Brand Meeting Room (123 Washington St, Columbus)
Monday, April 6 – New Haven Community Center (7500 SR 930 E, Fort Wayne)
Tuesday, April 7 – Old National Events Plaza – Exhibit Hall B (715 Locust St, Evansville) – CST
Thursday, April 9 – Noblesville City Hall – Council Chambers (16 S 10th St, Noblesville)
Monday, April 13 – Gary Public Library – Roma K. Ivey Community Room (220 W 5th Ave, Gary) – 5:30p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CST
Monday, April 20 – Ivy Tech Conference Center – Ballroom 212 (2820 N Meridian St, Indianapolis)
Wednesday, April 22 – Terre Haute City Hall – City Courtroom (17 Harding Ave, Terre Haute)

Many NIPSCO customers still had questions about delivery fees, wondering "why is that not set or regulated to one price and instead it a fluctuating price that’s almost three times what I use." Others say "the issue is most families do not qualify for any of these financial resources they keep mentioning."