OUCC recommends smaller rate increase from CenterPoint
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Indiana’s consumer watchdog over the utility industry is recommending a substantial reduction to a base-rate increase sought by Evansville-based CenterPoint Energy Indiana that would raise the average residential monthly electric bill by about $28.
The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor said Wednesday that a 16% base rate increase of $118.8 million requested by the utility is unwarranted. Rather, a 4.5% increase, or $33.1 million, is sufficient.
Under the 16% proposal before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, the typical residential customer would see an initial increase of $10.07 in late 2024, an additional $5.85 increase in 2025 and an additional $12.46 increase in 2026, Inside INdiana Business reported in December.
“Our attorneys and technical experts closely examined CenterPoint Energy’s evidence and have countered the utility’s new requests with recommendations that would provide for safe and reliable service at much lower costs than the utility requests,” Indiana Utility Consumer Counselor Bill Fine said in a news release. “In doing this, we were particularly mindful of the strong concerns many customers and civic leaders have raised about the utility’s request. We took all the comments into account while reviewing the evidence and we thank the community for their meaningful engagement in this process.”
CenterPoint Energy’s electric utility provides service to about 150,000 customers in seven southwestern Indiana counties.
A CenterPoint representative told Inside INdiana Business on Thursday that the utility was reviewing the recommendations. The representative said the company has prioritized safe and reliable service with minimal financial impact upon customers since the utility’s last electric rate case 14 years ago.
CenterPoint said last year when it filed the base-rate request with the IURC that it was seeking to recover costs associated with energy grid modernization, infrastructure replacement, automated meter technology, renewable energy initiatives and other capital projects.
The requests and recommendations outlined Wednesday by the OUCC include keeping monthly customer service charges for residential and small commercial customers at current levels, decreasing the utility’s authorized return on equity, and reducing operating and maintenance expenses.
A formal CenterPoint Energy response to the recommendations is due April 9 to the IURC, and an evidentiary hearing is set to start April 30. A final decision by the commission on the rate request is expected this fall, the news release said.
More information is available on the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor website.