As Northwest Indiana residents’ utility frustrations mount over triple-digit increases, legislators, too, are feeling the pressure to use the tools at their disposal to help provide relief.
At the Statehouse on Thursday, lawmakers debated the details of House Bill 1002, a proposal intended to help customers manage higher utility costs through expanded payment plans, assistance programs, and certain shutoff protections. But several amendments that would have strengthened consumer protections and increased billing transparency were rejected during the hearing.
The bill cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously, 9-0, and now heads to the full Senate for consideration next week.
The legislation focuses largely on giving customers more time to pay their bills rather than lowering costs directly. In Lake County, officials are also calling for clearer breakdowns of delivery charges so customers can better understand what they are paying for.
During Thursday’s hearing, state Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, proposed amendments that would give customers additional flexibility and clearer billing information. One amendment would have extended standard payment plans from six months to 12 months and barred late fees for customers who stay current on those plans.
“There’s already the standard payment plans that are available for utility users right now. This amendment would expand that to 12 months to give them a little bit more time,” Pol said during the hearing.
“Obviously hard times sometimes are very hard to limit to just six months. I know people that have been out there looking for jobs for eight months, nine months. And so what this would do with this would expand that to 12 months.”
State Rep. Alaina Shonkwiler, R-Noblesville, the bill’s author, said requiring a 12-month payment plan in state law could limit utilities’ flexibility to work with customers individually.
“I’m a staunch believer that not everything has to be legislated,” Shonkwiler said. “If they can work with their customers … they can do that on their own without us legislating an additional 12-month payment plan.”
Both amendments were defeated along party lines, 7-2, with only the two Democratic members of the committee voting in support.
While the bill would expand some payment options and add limited protections, it does not directly address delivery charges or reduce rates — issues that many residents say are driving the steep increases they are seeing.
Local officials in Lake County are now pushing for more transparency around those charges.
In a 6-0 vote Tuesday, the Lake County Council passed a resolution urging the Indiana General Assembly to require utilities to provide a clearer, itemized breakdown of delivery charges on monthly bills. Council members said residents have repeatedly asked for a better understanding of what those charges cover and how they are calculated.
“I believe we have all heard the concerns of residents about the recent increases in their NIPSCO bills — particularly the delivery charges,” said council President Christine Cid, D-5th.
Cid said she has spoken with residents who are trying to understand why delivery costs have risen and what they are paying for.
“Like anyone purchasing a service, I want the breakdown clear: labor, fees, infrastructure, materials and so on,” Cid said.
On their website, NIPSCO describes the charge as “the cost to bring the gas to your home. This includes a basic customer fee and the cost of operating and maintaining the natural gas pipelines and other parts of the system that safely and reliably deliver natural gas to your home.”
In the resolution, the council strongly urges the General Assembly to consider and enact legislation requiring electric and natural gas utilities operating in Indiana to provide a clear, itemized breakdown of all components of the delivery charge or equivalent on customer bills, including but not limited to base distribution costs, specific tracking mechanisms/riders (with identification of the associated Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission cause number or approval where applicable), and other recoveries.
County councilman Randy Niemeyer, R-7th, said energy bills are something that is impacting every person who receives service from NIPSCO, as well as from almost all energy companies in Indiana. He said the trackers are set outside of rate cases and are used for things like cost recovery, investment recovery and other various items.
“I don’t want to go through all 10 of them … but I agree with … Cid that we have a serious transparency issue. We have a serious lack of representation issue,” Niemeyer said.
“I think all of us as ratepayers … understand that improvement to infrastructure costs more money, but we want to know where that money is going,” he said.
The council’s resolution also urges lawmakers to require utilities to itemize delivery charges and calls on the state regulatory commission to adopt rules mandating clearer, standardized billing disclosures.
House Bill 1002 is expected to go before the full Senate by next week.