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Dive Brief:
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on Wednesday launched investigations into the return on equity utilities earn and their use of “trackers” that allow them to immediately recoup certain expenses.
The investigations grew out of the IURC’s recent examination of energy affordability issues, which resulted in a report released Wednesday that includes various recommendations, such as the ROE and tracker investigations, as well as doubling ratepayer assistance programs and expanded energy efficiency efforts.
Given recent actions by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, R, such as replacing the IURC’s chairman and calling for a rehearing of the commission’s approval of an AES rate hike, Indiana’s utilities may face increased scrutiny of their profits, according to Paul Patterson, a Glenrock Associates equity analyst. “It suggests that the risk of a more consumer-oriented utility commission policy may be coming about in Indiana,” he told Utility Dive in an interview.
