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Council urges AES and regulators to protect ratepayers; resolution passes unanimously
Summary
Proposal 2-87 urges AES Indiana and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to avoid rate increases tied to new data-center load and to protect ratepayers; the council approved the resolution 25-0.
The Indianapolis City-County Council on Oct. 6 unanimously adopted Proposal 2-87, a resolution urging AES Indiana (the utility operating as Indianapolis Power & Light d/b/a AES Indiana) and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to protect ratepayers and reconsider petitions that would raise electric rates.
Sponsor remarks described rising household costs and said council leaders and residents were asking the council to send a message to AES, the IURC and the governor's office. The proposal passed on a 25-0 vote.
Councilor Jesse Brown, who asked to be added as a cosponsor, told the council he had previously testified to the IURC and the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and said AES had "badly failed in its duty to ratepayers." Brown referenced the utility's recent billing rollout and reported that AES said "49% of its customers had received disconnection notices." He urged the council to oppose, politically, further rate increases and to explore long-term options including the possible use of revenue bonds or cooperative ownership models.
Other councilors also joined as cosponsors and framed the issue as one of affordability and reliability. The resolution does not change state regulatory authority but sends a formal, unanimous municipal-level statement to the IURC and the governor.
