INDIANAPOLIS — While AES Indiana seeks regulatory approval to increase electric rates for customers, an advocacy group based in Indianapolis reported they found evidence the energy company mischaracterized how much taxpayers would eventually have to pay if it is approved.
AES Indiana filed an electric rate case to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in late June. The filing, titled Cause No. 45911, proposed to increase a residential electric bill for 1,000 kwH, or kilowatt hours of usage, by $17.49. That would mark a base rate increase of at least 13% for a customer who was using 1,000 kwh monthly.
On Tuesday though, the environmental and consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition accused AES Indiana of mischaracterizing the actual proposed cost increase to customers. The group believes rates would actually increase by $23.65 per month — at least 35% more than AES Indiana has been telling customers.
Citizens Action Coalition claimed they discovered this discrepancy by analyzing a calculator tool available on the AES website that allowed customers to estimate their bill impact.
But the group claimed those bill impact calculations were actually based on much higher rates that AES Indiana charged customers back in 2022, when energy prices were higher, rather than rates currently charged.
AES Indiana officials allegedly confirmed to Citizens Action Coalition that the calculator's rates were based on those higher 2022 rates — not current ones — on Aug. 7.
The advocacy group is now discouraging customers from using that bill calculator tool to estimate future costs.
“Customers should not use AES Indiana’s bill calculator tool, which will severely underestimate how much your bill will actually go up if AES Indiana’s rate increase is approved,” said Ben Inskeep, who is the program director at Citizens Action Coalition.
Advocates with Citizens Action Coalition also called the move "inexcusable," and slammed the company for not being forthright about what a proposed rate increase would really cost customers.
“This is all about the utility trying to increase revenues and profits while keeping the public in the dark," Kerwin Olson, the group's executive director, said in a statement.
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Citizens Action Coalition is also encouraging customers to speak out against AES Indiana’s proposed rate increase at either of the two upcoming field hearings scheduled by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission:
- The first public field hearing will be held Thursday, Aug. 24 at 6 p.m. in Clowes Auditorium at the Indianapolis Public Library.
- The second public field hearing will be held at Monday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. at New Augusta Public Academy North.
Data compiled by the Energy Information Association in 2021 found the average U.S. residential utility customer consumed about 886 kWh per month.
In Indiana, Citizens Action Coalition estimates the average monthly residential usage is 1,000 kWh per month.
"This amount of usage is very commonly used by our utilities when estimating what a typical bill impact would be to a residential customer," Inskeep said.
AES Indiana said in a statement already posted to their website that they sought the rate increase to cover "rising operational costs and needs associated with serving customers safely and reliably." The company also disagreed with the watchdog's assertion that they misled customers, telling 13News in a statement:
"AES Indiana has correctly communicated the bill impact to customers by stating that its rate case would increase a residential electric bill for 1,000 kWh of usage by $17.49, or 13.2%, compared to 'Current Rates'.
AES Indiana recognizes that the term 'Current Rates' as used in this rate review comparison may have caused confusion as they do not represent the rates in effect today.
'Current Rates' represent the comparison between the rates AES Indiana expects customers would see on a bill in early 2024 compared to the rates customers would see in Summer 2024 after the rate review is completed.
The bill calculator is designed to help customers estimate and plan for the impact on their bill based on expected electricity usage and the new base rates.
Customers are invited to share feedback during the two public hearings being held by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on August 24 and October 2. We welcome this opportunity to hear directly from our customers."
A final order from IURC would be expected around April 2024, and the new rates could go into effect by summer 2024, according to a timeline from AES Indiana.
The Citizens Action Coalition joined one other energy advocacy group in filing a formal petition to investigate AES Indiana's storm response after storms knocked out power for 80,000 customers in mid-July.
You can file a complaint if you were affected by those outages here.
Click here to learn more about AES Indiana’s regulatory rate review.