Four developments landed this week that directly affect what Indiana manufacturers pay for power, who they can hire, and how their supply chains hold together in the next 24 to 36 months. The AES Indiana Phase 2 rate increase is locked in for January with no stay in place. Indiana just became the 41st NRC agreement state, which sets the table for a new cost layer on industrial bills as early as 2028. Amazon confirmed a $100 million robotics plant in Greenwood that will compete directly for your skilled trades by 2028. And Samsung SDI has taken full control of the New Carlisle battery facility, with a chemistry question that remains unresolved and 1,600-plus jobs still not on a confirmed timeline.

AES Indiana Phase 2 Rate Increase Is on Track for January

If you have been following the AES Indiana rate case, here is where it stands. Phase 1 of the $71 million base-rate increase took effect July 27. Phase 2 remains on track for January 2027. The IURC rehearing has a one-day evidentiary hearing scheduled for early March 2027. The Office of Utility Consumer Counselor did not request a stay.

That last point is the one that matters for your budget. AES Indiana collects in January. Any refund comes after the bill, not before. The IURC order references an $8.50 per month increase for an average residential account, but industrial rate schedules are structured differently. The actual increase on your facility depends on your rate class and load profile. Model your blended industrial rate under Phase 2 now, and mark your calendar for the March 2027 IURC hearing. That is the earliest the rate picture changes.

For context on how AES Indiana's rate trajectory fits the broader pattern of Indiana utility cost pressure, the AES Indiana rate increase and Indiana electricity cost overview published earlier this year covers the structural backdrop.

Indiana Becomes the 41st NRC Agreement State: What the SMR Cost Recovery Window Means

On September 24, Governor Braun and NRC Chairman Ho K. Nieh signed an agreement making Indiana the 41st NRC agreement state. This gives Indiana regulatory authority over nuclear materials at 213 academic, commercial, and medical facilities statewide. Braun framed it as part of Indiana's all-of-the-above energy cost strategy.

Here is the planning consideration that is not in the headline. Under SEA 424, Indiana's investor-owned utilities can seek pre-construction cost recovery for SMR development, subject to IURC review. Consumer advocates have raised concerns about refund exposure if projects are cancelled, and that debate is live. No Indiana IOU has publicly committed to filing an SMR cost-recovery petition. But if one files in the next 12 to 18 months, the three-year statutory window means industrial bills could carry an SMR line item as early as 2028 or 2029. That is a scenario worth modeling. It is not a scheduled event. Flag 2028 as a year that second cost layer could appear on top of the Phase 2 increase.

If you want the full decision framework on SMR and microreactor exposure for C&I operators, the small modular reactors and microreactors explainer lays out what to diligence before any utility cost-recovery petition reaches your rate class.

Amazon's $100 Million Greenwood Robotics Plant Is Competing for Your Workforce

Amazon announced on September 24 that it will invest more than $100 million to purchase and equip a 585,000-square-foot facility at 1175 Collins Road in Greenwood, Johnson County, just east of I-65. The target launch is 2028. Three hundred jobs, average salary of nearly $100,000 per year. The roles being hired: CNC operators, welders, powder coating technicians, controls engineers, manufacturing engineers, and quality assurance.

Those are not Amazon warehouse jobs. Those are your jobs.

This is Amazon's fourth robot-making plant globally. The robots built in Greenwood go directly into Amazon's North American fulfillment network. The facility is also inheriting a tax abatement that Scannell Properties originally secured in 2021, so that ten-year abatement clock is already running.

Amazon is paying 40 to 60 percent above regional manufacturing medians for the same roles you are trying to fill right now. Their 2028 hiring ramp is not a distant consideration. It is a near-term retention problem for any Indiana manufacturer with CNC operators, welders, or controls engineers on staff in the Johnson County and surrounding labor markets.

Samsung SDI Takes Full Control of New Carlisle: A Chemistry Question Nobody Has Answered

On August 11, Samsung SDI disclosed it had acquired General Motors' entire 49.99% stake in SynergyCells, the $3.5 billion, 680-acre battery plant under construction in New Carlisle, St. Joseph County. The plant is now Samsung SDI's first wholly owned battery facility in North America. GM cited slower-than-expected EV demand following the September 2025 expiration of the $7,500 federal BEV tax credit.

The announced pivot: rather than launching with EV cells, Samsung SDI will begin production with energy storage system batteries for the U.S. grid-storage market. The U.S. grid-storage market installed a record 57.6 GWh in 2025, so the demand picture is real.

The problem is fit. Samsung SDI is entering a segment dominated by Chinese LFP producers on cost, using a facility specced for a different chemistry. The building shell was completed with no production machinery installed. The plant was specified for nickel-rich NCA prismatic cells, not the LFP chemistry that dominates ESS production. That equipment fit-out decision is unresolved. Samsung SDI has not finalized its capital allocation for New Carlisle. The 1,600-plus jobs originally promised are not on the original timeline.

If you have supply chain or logistics exposure to this facility, or if you are competing for the same St. Joseph County workforce, watch for Samsung SDI's formal capital announcement. That is the decision that sets the actual production and hiring calendar. Until that announcement exists, the jobs and the production schedule are not confirmed.

Questions for Your Morning Huddle

Q: AES Indiana's Phase 2 rate increase is coming in January. What should we be doing right now?

A: Pull your current rate class and 12 months of interval data, then model your blended industrial rate under the Phase 2 schedule. There is no stay in place, so AES Indiana collects in January regardless of the March 2027 IURC hearing outcome. You are budgeting for a cost that is already locked in.

Q: Indiana is now an NRC agreement state. Does that mean SMR costs are coming to our bill?

A: Not yet. No Indiana investor-owned utility has filed an SMR cost-recovery petition. Under SEA 424, a utility would need to file and receive IURC approval before any cost recovery appears on industrial bills. The realistic earliest window, if a petition were filed in the next 12 to 18 months, is 2028 to 2029. Flag it as a scenario to model, not a confirmed line item.

Q: We have CNC operators and welders on staff. How seriously should we take the Amazon Greenwood announcement?

A: Seriously. Amazon's target launch is 2028, which means active hiring ramps before then. They are paying 40 to 60 percent above regional manufacturing medians for the exact roles you are trying to retain. If you do not have a retention plan in place for your top two or three people in those trades, build one before Amazon starts recruiting in your labor market.

Q: Samsung SDI took over the New Carlisle plant. Should we be planning around that facility's production timeline?

A: Not until Samsung SDI announces a finalized capital allocation. The building shell is complete but no production machinery has been installed, and the chemistry fit-out question is unresolved. The 1,600-plus jobs are not on a confirmed schedule. Treat the New Carlisle production timeline as unknown until the formal capital announcement.

One deadline before you close this out: the Conexus Rising 30 nomination window closes December 1. Nominations opened September 22 for the Class of 2027, young professionals 30 or younger in Indiana's advanced manufacturing and logistics sector. The window closed in November last year. It is six weeks earlier this year. If you have a rising leader on your team, that deadline is real and it is close.