(La Porte County, IN) - La Porte County government is getting directly involved in challenging a proposed 31-percent hike in NIPSCO electrical rates.
In a 2 to 1 vote on Monday, the La Porte County Commissioners voted to hire the law firm, Friedman & Associates, as an extra voice for NIPSCO customers without room for a rate hike in their already tight budgets.
“Our state now has the 12th highest electrical bills in the country and NIPSCO charges the highest rates in the state,” said attorney Shaw Friedman.
Citing a report from the not-for-profit Citizens Action Coalition, Friedman said the rate hike would mean the average NIPSCO residential customer's monthly electric bill increasing by just over $42, to nearly $179. CAC said the request for a rate hike comes at a time when more than 40 percent of Hoosiers are struggling to pay for basic necessities.
After last year’s increase in NIPSCO electrical costs, Friedman said the current rate charged by NIPSCO for 2,000 kilowatt hours of electricity is nearly $100 more than the state average. He added, NIPSCO has some of the longest power outage service restoration times for investor owned utilities and is below average in scoring under the latest J.D. Powers Customer Satisfaction report for utilities in the Midwest.
“If you’re paying the highest rates in Indiana and some of the highest in the nation, shouldn’t you have customer satisfaction that is the highest as well,” Friedman said.
Steve Holifield will begin his first term as commissioner on January 1st, and is urging La Porte County to challenge the rate hike proposal. A number of residents on fixed incomes have called him to express concerns about potential higher utility bills.
“I just hope you guys do the right thing to help keep NIPSCO in check,” Holifield said.
Business owner Ed Arnold suggested the commissioners join the rate hike challenge, and eventually compete with NIPSCO by forming their own La Porte County Rural Electric Membership Corporation to offer lower rates.
“It would take a lot of work. We do have that option,” Arnold said.
Commission President Connie Gramarossa said there are people wanting to open small businesses in La Porte County, but they’re discouraged by what they would have to pay in utility costs.
“It’s important to me we do something to help folks,” Gramarossa said.
La Porte County Auditor Tim Stabosz spoke up during the Department Head portion of the meeting in opposition of hiring Friedman & Associates to fight the NIPSCO rate increases.
"As the auditor, my recommendation to [the Commissioners] is that you independently evaluate the merits and demerits of the proposed NIPSCO increase," said Stabosz.
Stabosz continued, "If you choose to go with an attorney, my recommendation is that you get RFP's and RFQ's and consider other attorneys,"
Friedman has taken on NIPSCO multiple times in the past and helped secure rebates to customers and also assisted in reversing its decision to close its customer service facility in La Porte.
“La Porte County has shown over the past two decades one county can make a difference,” Friedman said.
In September, NIPSCO filed a request for a 22 percent increase in electric rates with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. According to NIPSCO, the increase generates $368 million annually needed for transitioning from coal-fired power plants, to renewable energy sources. It would also support sustainable energy investments and upgrades to aging infrastructure throughout its transmission and distribution system.
NIPSCO said the rate increase would be fully implemented in March of 2026. CAC said the rate increase would actually be 31 percent when including hikes in other fees.
