Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources Suzie Jaworowski hold a news conference at the Statehouse on Tuesday, Sept. 23. Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Leslie Bonilla Muñiz
Indiana Capital Chronicle

GOSHEN — Applications opened on Tuesday, Sept. 23 to join the powerful body that regulates Indiana’s utility companies — and sets their rates.

Gov. Mike Braun is seeking “entrepreneurial” candidates to fill three vacancies on the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and take on rising customer bills.

“If you’re interested in protecting ratepayers, ensuring Indiana has a stable energy supply … and if you can bring objectivity and fairness to the table, we want to hear from you,” Braun said.

“We will ensure that energy progress doesn’t come at the expense of Hoosier ratepayers’ ability to afford their energy bills,” he added, speaking during a Tuesday, Sept. 23 news conference.

Interested candidates can apply here. Applications are due Tuesday, Oct. 14.

Commissioners Sarah Freeman and Wesley Bennett are leaving in October — months before their terms were set to end — and Chair Jim Huston’s term lapsed in April, but he will remain until a replacement is chosen.

Braun finalized a nominating committee, which will conduct interviews after the application period ends.

He named three appointees: Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources Suzie Jaworowski; former state Rep. Dollyne Sherman; and Cory Cochran, an executive at commercial construction firm McRae Enterprises.

They join four appointees by the Indiana General Assembly:

• Indiana Senate Republicans: Jim Merritt, president of JWM Consulting Corp. and a former state senator.
• Indiana House Democrats: Grant Smith, a senior energy policy adviser at the Civil Society Institute.
• Indiana House Republicans: Bill Champion, of corrugated pipe manufacturer Fratco.
• Indiana Senate Democrats: Lindsay Shipps Haake, a government affairs specialist who has lobbied for utility customer advocates.

Asked if the nominating committee already has candidates in mind, Jaworowski said, “No, a lot of people have expressed interest, but we don’t know who will apply yet.”

The group will make recommendations, but final decisions are up to Braun.

Indiana is in the minority of states that gives the executive branch complete control over utility regulator selection.

In 13 states, they’re elected — mostly by voters, but also by lawmakers or political parties, according to research by Citizens Action Coalition, a utility customer advocacy group.

In 33 states, regulators are appointed but must be confirmed by the legislative branch. Appointed regulators in Indiana, Massachusetts, Nevada and New Hampshire aren’t.

The IURC is charged with ensuring that utilities provide safe, reliable service at just and reasonable rates. It is “an advocate of neither the public nor the utilities,” according to its website.

But Braun suggested it has leaned too far in one direction.

“Ratepayers, I think, have taken the brunt of it,” he told reporters — and called the affordability uproar “very analogous to what we went through on property taxes.”

Braun asserted that, just as taxpayers didn’t have high-powered lobbyists representing them in the property tax debate, “probably ratepayers don’t” when it comes to utilities.

“That’s where someone’s got to be a voice for it,” he said. “And I will be that voice.”

Braun also named a new leader for the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor this month. Counselor Abby Gray’s first public action was to recommend denial of one utility company’s proposed hike — and endorse reductions in its current rates.

“Utility companies … had legitimate cost increases,” Braun said. “But whenever you go beyond covering your costs and it looks like you’re trying to do more, then you’re taking advantage of a system that needs to be a little more attentive.”

The application announcement came as Citizens Action Coalition launched a utility affordability campaign targeted at Braun — dubbed “Stop Mike’s Hikes.” It includes digital, outdoor and radio advertising, according to a Tuesday, Sept. 23 news release.

“Hoosiers are hurting, and Braun has the chance to lead. He’s inherited an energy landscape that’s been carefully designed to benefit utilities and big industry,” Coalition Executive Director Kerwin Olson said. “The rate hikes Hoosiers have endured in recent years are just the tip of the iceberg. We need decisive action to reverse the policies that got us here in the first place and embrace energy solutions that will lower bills and ensure long-term reliability without sending costs through the roof.”