AES Indiana Rate Hike Rehearing Set for Early March

Daniel BurkePublished every day

AES Indiana, the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, Citizens Action Coalition, the city of Indianapolis, and a group of industrial customers have agreed to a one-day hearing in early March to reconsider the $71 million base rate increase the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved 3-1 in June. Customers are already paying both phases regardless of the outcome: phase one added under $1 a month starting July 27 for a household using 1,000 kilowatt-hours, and phase two, arriving in January, adds roughly $8.50 a month. For comparison, CenterPoint customers absorbed a 25% increase (about $44 a month) and Duke Energy Indiana customers saw a 20% increase (about $26 a month) in 2025, both larger dollar increases than AES's case. Industrial customers reached their own separate settlement before the June order closed, which means the residential rate class is carrying more of this fight than your facility might be. AES has already filed a second rate case seeking $193 million, citing data center demand as a driver.

Impact

This is the most politically charged of five simultaneous Indiana utility rate fights -- CenterPoint customers absorbed a 25% ($44/month) jump and Duke Energy Indiana customers saw 20% ($26/month) increases in 2025, both larger than AES's -- yet AES draws the most fire because a BlackRock-led consortium (with CalPERS and Qatar Investment Authority) is simultaneously acquiring its parent company. Industrial customers already negotiated their own separate settlement before the June order, meaning residential ratepayers are effectively subsidizing industrial power costs while this $71 million case is just a preview: AES has already filed a second, much larger $193 million rate case citing data center demand.

Watch

The one-day hearing scheduled for early March 2026, and whether the IURC's parallel review folds in evidence from the pending $193 million AES rate case.

For the huddle

If AES's industrial customers already locked in a separate rate settlement before this fight started, do we know whether our own facility is covered by that protection or exposed to the residential rate track instead?

Check with your AES account representative which settlement track covers your rate class, since the industrial group's deal was struck separately from the residential rehearing now scheduled for March, and residential customers are currently carrying more of the disputed increase.

Sources

Indiana challenges AES $71M rate hike as bigger power bills hit before rehearing · thecooldown.com

Earlier coverage

From the brief, October 17, 2026

AES Indiana Rate Hike Rehearing Set for Early March
IURC Approves AES-Google $737 Million Monrovia Data Center Plan
Winnebago Cuts 51 More Jobs in Forest City as Middlebury Consolidation Lands in Indiana
EPA Rolls Back Power Plant Rules While NIPSCO and CenterPoint Keep Coal Running Past Retirement
Indiana American Water Finishes $24.5 Million Gary Main Overhaul

The whole day’s brief →

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