AES Indiana Ownership Fight Reaches FERC With a Rate Case Still Pending

Daniel BurkePublished every day

Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Indiana Reps. André Carson and Victoria Spartz are now urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject the $33.4 billion BlackRock-led takeover of AES. Ohio regulators approved their portion of the deal on September 24, which leaves FERC as the major remaining approval. FERC does not set your electric rate, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission does. The open question is whether new owners carrying $33.4 billion in deal financing push harder for a higher rate in AES Indiana's next rate case. AES Indiana's $71 million rate increase is still under rehearing. If FERC approves the deal, watch for hold-harmless or rate-protection conditions attached to that approval.

For your morning huddle

What does the BlackRock takeover of AES mean for AES Indiana's electric rates?

FERC approval would not set your rate directly, the IURC does that, but a $33.4 billion debt load behind the new ownership raises the question of whether AES Indiana pushes harder for rate increases in its next case, which is relevant now because its $71 million rate increase is still under rehearing.

Briefing note

A bipartisan group of lawmakers including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Indiana Reps. André Carson and Victoria Spartz sent a letter urging federal regulators to reject the $33.4 billion take-private acquisition of AES Corporation by BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT Infrastructure, with CalPERS and Qatar's QIA as co-investors. The push follows Ohio's PUCO approving its portion of the deal on September 24, 2026, leaving FERC (under Docket EC26-99) as the last major gatekeeper, with Public Citizen, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, and Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana all filing formal protests.

Impact: The legal fight centers on a 2010 FERC blanket authorization that let BlackRock acquire up to 20% of utility voting securities with minimal review: watchdogs argue it's being stretched to cover a full controlling takeover, and FERC Commissioner Mark Christie has already flagged that scrutiny is warranted when a company sits on 'both sides of the fence' as both passive utility shareholder and active controlling owner. That fight is unfolding while AES Indiana's own $71 million rate increase remains under rehearing after Gov. Braun replaced the IURC chairman over the vote, meaning Central Indiana's 530,000-plus AES Indiana customers face regulatory uncertainty from two directions at once.
Watch: FERC's ruling under Docket EC26-99, and specifically whether it orders a full evidentiary hearing rather than a straight approval or denial given the blanket-authorization conflict argument.

From the brief, October 1, 2026

Nucor Vulcraft Steel Grating Expansion Points to Margin Pressure, Not New Demand
Duke Energy Indiana Adds Three Sites, One Already Has a Likely Tenant
AES Indiana Ownership Fight Reaches FERC With a Rate Case Still Pending

The whole day’s brief →

From the Energy Answers library · most read

Field guide

Power Factor Penalties: Find It, Verify It, Fix It

A fully avoidable charge that compounds with your demand costs. Learn where it hides on your bill, how to verify it, and what it takes to eliminate it without wasting capital.

Decision 4· Power Quality

Read the guide

Work email

Manufacturers Energy Grant Program

Free for Indiana manufacturers

Manufacturers from qualifying Indiana counties receive a free monthly 35-point audit of their electric bills for cost recovery and savings. Every line item checked and validated, every opportunity found comes with a step-by-step guide to capture it.

Claim your Grant Check out the program

EDCs: sponsor this program and it carries your organization's name For economic developers →