During Tuesday’s session, the Indiana House heard various amendments to a bill that aims to make electric utility bills more affordable statewide.
House Bill 1002 — authored by state Rep. Alaina Shonkwiler, R-Noblesville — offers multiple solutions to rising electricity bills, including automatically placing residential ratepayers on budget billing and prohibiting utilities from disconnecting low-income customers’ services during periods with extreme heat warnings. The bill also ties utility profits to performance metrics, including affordability and service restoration.
Ratepayers must be placed on budget billing plans on July 1, if the legislation is passed, according to Post-Tribune archives. State Reps. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, and Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, co-authored House Bill 1002, according to the Indiana General Assembly website.
The bill was on second reading in the House on Tuesday and passed onto third reading. House Bill 1002 had 20 amendments listed, but representatives only voted on 12 of them.
Shonkwiler introduced one amendment, which changes the language about termination of an electric or gas service, adding that a utility company cannot terminate a residential service if at least 48 hours before, the National Weather Service expects the area’s heat index to be above 95 degrees. Utilities cannot disconnect services from Dec. 1 to March 15, according to the bill.
Shonkwiler’s amendment passed in a voice vote. Her amendment was the only one introduced that passed on Tuesday.
Multiple Democrats introduced amendments that failed on Tuesday. State Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster, introduced an amendment that would eliminate the sales tax for utilities, but it failed in a 33-62 vote.
“House Bill 1002, I understand, is a meaningful step towards progress, and I’m glad to see bipartisan support when it comes to the affordability crisis that we’re seeing,” Andrade said. “But there is more we can do today to ensure that our Hoosiers continue to see the benefits of this bill in the future.”
State Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, introduced a similar amendment to Andrade’s, which would suspend sales tax on residential utilities for one year. Pierce’s amendment failed in a 34-61 vote.
Andrade introduced five amendments during Tuesday’s House session, and each one failed. In addition to eliminating utility sales tax, his proposed amendments aimed to apply disconnect rules to all customers regardless of income status; to require utilities to host at least three public hearings if their rates increase by 3%; to prohibit the IURC from allowing a rate increase above 3%; and to place a two-year moratorium on fixed rates and charges.
“I will continue to work across the aisle to ensure that we’re passing meaningful legislation that will help our Hoosiers not only in my district and across Northwest Indiana, but throughout the whole state,” Andrade said. “This is not a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. This is something that we should be able to agree on across party lines. I will continue to push for reforms that lower costs and demand real oversight. This is about fairness and transparency, and this is about standing for the people that we serve.”
State Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, introduced four amendments that failed on Tuesday. Her amendments aimed to require investor-owned facilities to implement programs against disconnects; to require available payment assistance programs to appear on utility bills; to require the IURC to look closer at utility companies that are sold, adding that she would prefer them to stay in Indiana; and to require investor-owned utilities to reimburse customers for prolonged outages.
State Rep. Carey Hamilton, D-Indianapolis, introduced an amendment that would establish statewide community energy facilities, which would generate or store electricity through photovoltaics, wind power or battery storage. The amendment failed in a 32-66 vote.
Shonkwiler previously said that House Bill 1002 introduced performance-based ratemaking in a “limited and incremental way,” and it’s an evolution to traditional regulation. Utilities will continue to be regulated by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, and some of their financial outcomes will be linked to how well they perform against “clearly defined metrics.”
Republicans and Democrats both said electric affordability was one of their focuses this session, and House Bill 1002 is one of the legislative body’s priority bills.
In July, the Citizens Action Coalition found that statewide electric utility bills have increased by more than $28 per month, or 17.5%, according to Post-Tribune archives. NIPSCO residential customers were hit hardest, with about a $50 per month, or 26.7% increase, in one year.
The House will vote to send the bill to the Senate at a later date.
