Indianapolis Department of Public Works announces ‘more favorable’ rates for AES Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Department of Public Works announced on Wednesday night that they have reached a settlement with AES Indiana that will “save millions of dollars for taxpayers.”

According to a press release from Indy DPW officials, Indiana AES announced in June that it was seeking a rate change from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to raise its rates due to increased costs in 2026.

A pre-approval for a rate case from the IURC would allow AES Indiana a chance to recover from its losses.

According to previous reports, in September, the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) called for a reduction in AES Indiana rates.

The agency represents taxpayer interests in cases presented before state and federal utility regulatory commissions, including the IURC.

The Indianapolis City-County Council also introduced a resolution to withdraw rates in September.

“We just want their rate of return to be reasonable and not, you know, extortionary,” said Councilor Jesse Brown of District 13. “We just don’t think that the rates need to be raised in order to secure our electric grid and let them maintain a healthy profit.”

Over the course of the last several months, Indy DPW and many other “similarly situated rate payers” agreed to settlement terms that save Indianapolis and taxpayers millions of dollars over the next several years. This would be done by locking in the rates at nearly half of what AES Indiana initially was seeking, according to Indy DPW.

On Tuesday, a report in The Financial Times stated that BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, was close to purchasing AES.

“BlackRock is looking to make as much money as possible off of our backs by taking that money out of our wallets through the various ways that they can leverage that power,” Ben Inskeep with the Citizens Action Coalition said.

“Because of this intervention from the city, AES will not be able to raise rates for many years,” said Indy DPW Director Todd Wilson. “Our team went to bat on behalf of taxpayers, and the result is a win for the community.”

You can find the terms of the agreement below:

• An approximately 50% reduction in AES Indiana’s sought after rate increase for street lighting
• AES Indiana is prohibited from seeking a base rate case increase prior to Jan. 1, 2030
• Residential fixed monthly charges (which do not include variable charges, such as electricity consumption) do not increase and will remain at the same IURC-approved levels
• Approximately $40 million in incremental uncollectible accounts expenses and $7 million in forgone late fees related to the customer information billing system issues shall not be recovered from residents through the revenue requirement established in this case or any future case

The last settlement between Indy DPW and AES Indiana on a rate case was just two years ago.