How exposed are Indiana manufacturers to AES Indiana's rate increase if more data center deals land on the grid?

Your January bill goes up about $8.50 a month for a typical 1,000 kilowatt-hour household regardless of the March rehearing, and the Monrovia data center approval shows regulators are willing to let $73.8 million in grid upgrade costs land in AES's rate base rather than fully on the data center. Watch whether that cost-allocation pattern repeats as more hyperscaler deals get filed.

Will Nucor and Amazon's hiring in Crawfordsville and Greenwood compete for the same skilled trades workforce?

Yes. Nucor's Crawfordsville expansion and Amazon's Greenwood plant are both hiring CNC operators, welders and controls engineers on roughly the same 2027 to 2029 timeline, at average wages near $87,500 and $100,000 a year. If your facility needs the same trades, you are bidding against two nine-figure projects, not just the local labor market.

Should Indiana manufacturers consider on-site generation or longer power contracts given the AES, Duke, NIPSCO and nuclear activity underway?

AES, Duke and NIPSCO are each striking different cost-allocation deals with hyperscalers right now, and a Sullivan County nuclear project is still years from a final investment decision. That uncertainty is exactly why it is worth evaluating on-site generation or a longer power contract now, before the next data center lands on your part of the grid and the cost-allocation fight repeats.

Manufacturing News TEG Daily

October 26, 2026 · Montgomery · Marion · Morgan · Sullivan · Johnson · NIPSCO · AES INDIANA · DUKE INDIANA

Nucor's $105 Million Crawfordsville Expansion, AES Indiana's Rate Increase, and Amazon's $100 Million Greenwood Plant: What Indiana Manufacturers Need to Track This Week

AES Indiana's rate increase rises in January no matter the March rehearing, as Nucor, Amazon and a Sullivan County nuclear project strain the same grid.

Daniel BurkePublished every day

Nucor is putting another $105 million into its Crawfordsville plant, Amazon is building a $100 million robotics manufacturing facility in Greenwood, and AES Indiana's rate increase will add about $8.50 to your January bill no matter what happens at a rehearing scheduled for March. Layer in a newly approved $1.3 billion AES infrastructure plan to serve a Google data center in Monrovia and an early-stage nuclear proposal in Sullivan County, and five separate developments are landing on the same Indiana grid, and the same labor market, within a matter of weeks.

01Montgomery

Nucor's $105 Million Crawfordsville Expansion

Nucor Corporation announced on October 8 that it will invest $105 million to expand its Towers and Structures facility in Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, adding roughly 125,000 square feet and up to 100 jobs by the end of 2029. The average wage on those jobs is $87,500 a year, on top of the 328 people already working there.

For the huddle: If Nucor's vertically integrated pole-and-tower model is squeezing out standalone fabricators the way the research suggests, are we positioned to supply into (or compete against) that utility transmission buildout?

SourcesNucor plans to expand utility towers and structures manufacturing facility in Indiana (plantservices.com)

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02Marion

AES Indiana's Rate Increase Rehearing Pushes to March While Bills Keep Rising

AES Indiana, the state's consumer counselor, Citizens Action Coalition, the city of Indianapolis and industrial customers have agreed to a one-day rehearing in early March on AES's $71 million rate increase, which the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved 3-1 in June before Governor Mike Braun directed the counselor's office to seek a second look. None of that is stopping the bill from rising.

For the huddle: If the rehearing finds AES failed to disclose the Google contract during the rate case, could the cost-allocation fix shift more of that burden onto industrial accounts like ours instead of residential ratepayers?

SourcesIndiana challenges AES $71M rate hike as bigger power bills hit before rehearing (thecooldown.com)

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03Morgan

IURC Approves AES's $1.3 Billion Plan to Power Google's Monrovia Data Center

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission voted unanimously on October 7 to approve AES Indiana's plan for solar, battery storage and transmission lines to serve a 390-megawatt Google data center in Monrovia, Morgan County. It is the first project filed under Indiana's 2025 law requiring large electricity users to cover 80% of the costs assigned to them.

For the huddle: As AES, Duke and NIPSCO each lock up hyperscaler contracts with different cost-allocation structures, which model leaves manufacturers least exposed to socialized grid-upgrade costs the next time a data center lands near our facility?

SourcesIndiana approves AES plan to power Google data center in Monrovia (wvxu.org)

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04Sullivan

Amazon, AEP and X-energy Explore a 960-Megawatt Nuclear Plant in Sullivan County

Amazon, American Electric Power and X-energy announced they are exploring a 960-megawatt small modular nuclear project using 12 Xe-100 reactors at the former Breed Generating Station site in Sullivan County. AEP and X-energy will run feasibility studies while Amazon funds development and plans a long-term power purchase agreement.

For the huddle: Given X-energy's entire Indiana timeline is gated behind an NRC review happening in a different state, how much weight should we put on a 2029 reactor date if we're planning our own long-term power contracts around it?

SourcesX-Energy expands nuclear pipeline with new Indiana reactor proposal (constructionreviewonline.com)

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05Johnson

Amazon's $100 Million Robotics Manufacturing Plant Lands in Greenwood

Amazon announced on September 24 that it will invest more than $100 million in a 585,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility at 1175 Collins Road in Greenwood, Johnson County, creating 300 jobs averaging nearly $100,000 a year. The plant will combine fabrication, robotic welding, automated powder coating and assembly under one roof, supported by AWS and AI-powered manufacturing systems, to build equipment for Amazon's own robotics and fulfillment network.

For the huddle: With Amazon and Nucor both hiring CNC operators, welders and controls engineers in Indiana over the same 2027-2029 window, what's our retention plan before these two projects reset local wage floors for skilled trades?

SourcesAmazon to invest $100 million in advanced manufacturing facility in Indiana (buildingindiana.com)

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