A powerful derecho knocked out power in parts of northwest Indiana for nearly two weeks, but is the region’s utility company seeking rate hikes?
According to multiple reports and documents from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, NIPSCO has filed for three different rate adjustments since the August 11 derecho, which knocked out power to approximately 80% of the utility’s customers in the area.
The IURC has been tasked with evaluating the potential increases, and has also been called upon to investigate whether NIPSCO did enough to clear trees and other vegetation from around power lines in the lead-up to the derecho.
According to reporting from NBC Chicago’s Paris Schutz, the utility is seeking an additional $250 million in funding for various projects, which could end up costing consumers approximately $7.33 per month according to filings.
The IURC has found in recent reports that NIPSCO customers are paying 63% more for electricity than they were 10 years ago.
State Rep. Randy Novack also says state law allows NIPSCO to eventually pass along all of the costs of the recent storm cleanup to ratepayers, risking ever higher monthly bills. NIPSCO representatives refused an interview today but sent a statement to Schutz saying that it is committed to “transparency and cooperation” in the state investigation.
As for the rate adjustments, the company objected to characterizing them as “rate hikes,” and said that the filings are routine and are made quarterly, and that the monies would go toward numerous projects.
“The regulatory filings made in August are routine quarterly or semi-annual proceedings previously authorized by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC),” the company said. “These filings recover NIPSCO’s fuel costs, regional transmission organization costs and resource adequacy and reliability costs, as well as allow NIPSCO to pass back credits to customers resulting from the benefits provided by NIPSCO’s renewable energy resources, including production and investment tax credits and excess energy sales.”
The news of the potential rate increases comes as NIPSCO faces a lawsuit over its handling of trees and vegetation around power lines.
According to the IURC, NIPSCO promised it would trim trees and other vegetation along more than 1,263 miles of power lines last year. The company wound up only trimming along 954 miles, according to attorneys who are signed onto the lawsuit against the utility.
“NIPSCO has no such plan of regular maintenance of its, distribution lines,” said attorney Ken Allen, who is leading the class action case. “Consequently, you have an abundance of vegetation that grows up around these lines. And what we’ve experienced here in the last two weeks is really just the culmination of years of neglect.”
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