Committee hears bill to allow three‑year rate plans, add summer shutoff protections and low‑income assistance

Lawmakers, utility representatives and consumer advocates spent more than two hours on Tuesday debating House Bill 1002, a measure that would let investor‑owned electric utilities file three‑year multiyear rate plans and bind payouts or penalties to a small set of performance incentive metrics while adding new consumer protections.

"This legislation is the direct outgrowth of that work," the bill sponsor, Representative Schonk Wyler, told the committee as she described the bill’s origin in an Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) study of performance‑based ratemaking. She said the proposal seeks a "measured approach" that pairs multiyear planning with narrowly defined performance incentive mechanisms, preserves core IURC oversight and focuses on affordability, reliability and resilience.

The bill would require utilities under IURC jurisdiction to offer a low‑income customer assistance program by 07/01/2026 if one is not already in place and would expand protections against service termination during officially declared extreme heat events for customers who are eligible for and have applied to the state’s Low‑Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).…