AES hosts ‘community office hours’ for customers concerned over high bills

INDIANAPOLIS – AES customers have been reaching out for months saying their bills skyrocketed without explanation. Thursday, for the first time, AES invited any concerned customers to meet with representatives in person for what they call “community office hours.”

Over the span of two hours at the Julia M. Carson Transit Center downtown, 120 people showed up – bills in hand, and worries on their minds.

“I’m hoping to get an extension to be able to afford to pay this $1,000 light bill,” said Ransom Jackson.

AES says it wants to give customers an opportunity to speak with a representative face to face who could sign them up for a payment plan or discuss energy efficiency strategies.

“Sometimes it’s easier to go through your bill and look at what you’re confused about, what you need help with, when you’re staring at someone and actually talking to them,” said AES of Indiana Director of Communications Mallory Duncan.

Some customers told us their electricity bills have reached an all-time high, despite not dramatically increasing their energy use at home.

“We had one of the coldest Januarys that we’ve seen in over a decade in central Indiana, so that attributes to a lot of these bill questions,” Duncan said. “And if people have just lived here for 10 years, maybe they haven’t seen a bill that high in the winter.”

According to our Weather Authority Team, this past January was the coldest since 2014, hitting 4° per day below normal. However, customer Robert Miller says he noticed a big change months before that.

“Help me to understand how with gas heat and a gas furnace, how is the electric bill more expensive than my gas bill?” Miller said.

Problems with billing trace back to November of 2023, when AES switched systems then paused disconnections because of widespread issues. The company started sending notices out again last month.

Miller says he lives alone in a three-bedroom house he’s had all his life, where he used to hand AES about $260 a month, but now he’s told he owes $3,000.

“I’ve done everything from the trustee, even the Damien Center there’s a lot of resources, they simply turned me down because of the enormous size of the bill,” Miller said.

If you missed Thursday’s event, AES representatives will be back at the Julia M. Carson Transit Center Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m. until noon, and Wednesday, April 16, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m.