Braun's Coal and Nuclear Orders Push Indiana Industrial Electricity Costs Higher Through 2029

Braun signed three executive orders: one directing state regulators to review every Indiana coal plant for potential life extension, one creating a Nuclear Indiana Coalition focused on small modular reactors, and one prohibiting state agencies from factoring the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions into decisions. Sierra Club, an advocacy group opposed to the extensions, estimates NIPSCO's Schahfer plant at about $174,000 per day in net ratepayer cost, with CenterPoint's Culley adding roughly $21,000 per day. Utilities have not confirmed those numbers.

Even a fraction of that magnitude is a rate indicator you should model. The state-level review lands on top of the existing federal emergency order already forcing those plants to stay online, which creates a second cost-recovery pathway. Watch the IURC's response to the life-extension directive, that timeline tells you how fast this reaches a rate case. There is also a live tension worth tracking: hyperscalers like Microsoft and Amazon have committed publicly to 24/7 carbon-free power and rely on carbon market instruments to meet targets tied to their Indiana data center investments, and the social-cost prohibition creates legal ambiguity about whether Indiana can host those instruments. Not yet a documented siting blocker, but it is a thread.