AES Indiana rate review

A rate review is a formal process that utilities file when customer rates no longer cover the cost of delivering reliable service. A modification in costs most often results from upgrading infrastructure or increased operations and maintenance expenses. AES Indiana constantly evaluates different facets of data to ensure we are providing our customers with reliable, sustainable and affordable energy. AES Indiana filed for this rate review June 28, 2023.

Starting mid-May, a residential customer using 1,000 kWh a month will see an increase of approximately 7.2 percent or a little under $10. While the rate increase will vary among business customers, most small businesses can expect an increase in the 2-10 percent range. AES Indiana’s residential rates continue to remain among the lowest of the investor-owned electric utilities in Indiana.

Customers can understand how to read bills and plan for the new impact based on expected electricity usage and the new base rates located at aesindiana.com/understand-your-bill.

Factors leading to this new review of rates include:

• Inflationary impacts on operations and maintenance expenses
• Investments in reliability and resiliency improvements
• Enhancements to our customer systems

While the impact on individual bills is determined by electric usage, you will see fluctuating prices due to the Fuel Adjustment Charge (FAC). These costs are evaluated every three months and the FAC is filed to account for the price of fuel and purchased power costs. The FAC does not result in any profit to AES Indiana and is strictly a pass-through cost. Base rates and rate changes are not affected by or related to the FAC.

Vegetation is the number one cause of outages in AES Indiana’s service territory. In 2023, approximately 30 percent of outages were caused by vegetation issues. Removing the overhang of branches is the first step to improving reliability. AES Indiana is taking even more preventative measures by proactively trimming trees on a data-driven cycle to help prevent tree and branch failures which, in turn, will improve the number of outages you see. Vegetation is the only asset that is constantly changing. Trees continuously grow while our poles and lines don’t move.

AES Indiana will introduce several customer benefits, including the elimination of residential customer disconnections on Fridays, weekends and certain holidays, increased investments in vegetation management and greater protections for customers with Medical Alerts.

We understand customers count on us to keep costs as low as possible and increasing bills can be a financial challenge for our customers. In 2022, we expanded assistance program information and developed a resource page on our website to include state and federal payment assistance options, applications and FAQs.

For more information, visit aesindiana.com/payment-assistance.

No. AES Indiana invests $2 million annually in charitable contributions in Central Indiana funded by AES Indiana shareholder dollars. AES Indiana does not pass on the cost of its community investments or advertising to customers.