The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) handed down a decision Monday with both good and bad news for ratepayers. According to reporting from the Indianapolis Star and the Indianapolis Business Journal, Duke had originally asked for a $362 million rate hike, but the IURC approved an estimated $146 million in added revenue for the electric utility.
The Star quotes an official with the Citizens Action Coalition as saying this could amount to a 6% increase in rates for residential customers.
The original Duke rate hike proposal would have covered lost revenue due to lower economic activity tied to the pandemic. Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness strongly opposed that concept.
“Today’s ruling by the IURC to deny the utility companies’ request to recoup lost revenue demonstrates its commitment to the public interest by ensuring utilities provide safe and reliable service at just and reasonable rates,” Fadness said in a written statement. “Fishers’ residents, business owners, public schools, and other community and civic organizations have all had to adjust and make incredibly difficult decisions to weather this pandemic.”
According to the IBJ, the higher rates, after all is calculated, will be implemented in two phases: the first later this year, and the second next year.