INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Democratic State Chair Karen Tallian today slammed Governor Mike Braun for campaigning on “utility affordability during the campaign last year but doing absolutely nothing this year to rein in out-of-control electric rate hikes by investor-owned utilities like NIPSCO, AES and CenterPoint. This is a classic bait and switch.”
Tallian cites a Citizens Action Coalition study (attached) that showed how some families – like those in the 22 county NIPSCO service territory – are paying $50 more a month than just a year ago.
“Why didn’t Governor Braun move just as fast to replace all five members of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) who keep rubber-stamping these rate hikes as he moved to replace the trustees of Indiana University? Because he’s all talk when it comes to reining in the investor owned utilities who were big contributors to his 2024 campaign,” said Tallian.
Tallian also charged that the, “Utility Consumer Counselor has also become a rubber stamp for the utilities rather than fighting for utility customers. Bill Fine who has been in that job for seven years and announced he’s finally stepping down September 1st should have been replaced by this Governor on Day 1 if Mike Braun was serious about real utility reform.”
“Instead the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor just endorsed NIPSCO’s plan for a first-of-its-kind largely unregulated subsidiary to handle data center energy load. Entities like the Citizens Action Coalition, LaPorte County, Clean Grid Alliance and others are fighting Genco which has been sold to Wall Street investors as a great way to juice shareholder profits,” said Tallian. (See attached front page story, Times of Northwest Indiana, 8/16/25)
“NIPSCO has the highest electric rates of any utility in the state and now they want the public to trust they will protect ratepayers with this untested, unproven subsidiary that is the first-of-its-kind in the country? Do we look like we were born yesterday? And yet ‘the people’s advocate’, the Utility Consumer Counselor backed the concept which sure as heck makes it look like it’s a done deal. This is so wrong and it’s time the Governor replaced not only the IURC members, but also the Utility Consumer Counselor with people who will actually look out for ratepayers.”
“Indiana Democrats will fight to bring down electric rates for working families who can’t afford these constant increases. Under Mike Braun, he talks about utility affordability but gives a ‘wink and a nod’ to his friends in the corporate suites at places like NIPSCO, CenterPoint and AES. Enough is enough!”
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