Braun Names Jerrells to the IURC, Fourth Appointment Since December

On July 22, Braun appointed Joby Jerrells, chief counsel of the Advisory Division at the Indiana Attorney General's office, to the seat vacated by Commissioner David Veleta. Veleta resigned effective end of August after voting for the 3-2 approval of a $71 million AES Indiana rate increase in June. Braun now holds four of five seats on the commission.

The procedural detail worth tracking: Chairman Anthony Swinger has recused himself from the AES rehearing over prior work at the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, and the nominating committee explicitly sought a licensed attorney who would not need to recuse. Before that committee, Jerrells described the IURC as being "at a crossroads," suggested the commission could propose a rule defining "affordability", a term not currently in statute, and called small modular reactors an "exciting" opportunity tied to data center growth. Under Indiana's CWIP statute, utilities can charge ratepayers for SMR construction costs before any electricity is produced, and even if a project is abandoned. Braun's affordability mandate and his nuclear agenda now have to be reconciled by the same board, inside the same docket, before AES's January 2027 phase-two implementation.