Hamilton thanks Braun for concern for utility ratepayers, calls on general assembly to follow suit
Today, Gov. Mike Braun called upon the Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor to “evaluate utilities’ profits and find cost-saving measures to ease the financial burden on Hoosiers,” per a news release from his office. He also announced that he appointed a new Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor commissioner.
Amid pending rate hike requests from Indiana utility companies such as AES, Hoosier consumers have been hit with record-high utility bills this summer, up 17.5% on average.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Carey Hamilton (D-Indianapolis), a member of the House Committee on Utilities, Energy and Telecommunications, released the following statement reacting to the announcement:
“I appreciate Gov. Braun’s stated commitment to lowering utility costs for consumers and share that desire with him. I hope he will join me in calling upon House Republicans to support efforts from House Democrats to lower utility bills – which they have resoundingly rejected this legislative session.
“Changing the consumer ratepayer advocate commissioner does little to change the fact that the legal deck is stacked against Indiana utility consumers. Thanks to a slew of new laws championed by the Republican supermajority, utility companies are still allowed to pass on the cost of expensive experimental projects to consumers, and data centers are exempt from paying sales tax.”
This year alone, House Democrats stood up for utility consumers by forcing House Republicans to reject measures that would objectively lower utility bills via second-reading amendment votes:
“I hope that my House Republican colleagues will join us in advocating for consumers over utility company profits in the future, especially as consumers begin to understand that AI companies are passing on the cost of doing business to everyday families,” Hamilton concluded.