Members of the Citizens Action Coalition encouraged Northwest Indiana to continue advocating for themselves and raising concerns about high utility bills statewide.
“That’s the kind of beautiful thing about what you all are doing up here,” said Kelly Hamman, director of development for the Citizens Action Coalition. “There’s a lot of wonderful organizing, and I know you all know it. … We’ve just got to keep doing that.”
The Citizens Action Coalition hosted an informative town hall at the Dean and Barbara White Community Center in Merrillville Tuesday. The town hall explained what makes up utility bills, why bills are so high, what legislative action has been taken regarding bills and what residents can do to voice concerns.
Hamman told attendees that the Citizens Action Coalition was founded in Indiana in 1974. The organization watches statewide utilities and advocates for residential ratepayers and the environment.
“I think the conditions back then were very similar to what we’re experiencing right now,” Hamman said. “Folks felt like everything was going up, and they couldn’t catch a break, and it seemed that the big companies had a lot of representation, but the people did not.”
In the past couple years, Northern Indiana Public Service Company — or NIPSCO — bills have “been through the roof,” Hamman said, which has increasingly affected residential ratepayers. The boom of artificial intelligence data centers across Indiana also contributes to rising costs, she said.
“We need to pressure state lawmakers and regulators so that we can work on policies that really lead to meaningful changes,” Hamman said.
A NIPSCO spokesperson responded to the Citizens Action Coalition’s town hall in a statement. The utility was not involved in the event, according to the statement.
“… NIPSCO values the regulatory process and ensures compliance with all applicable rules and regulations,” the statement said. ”As a regulated utility, NIPSCO files all its rates with the IURC. NIPSCO does not set or raise prices on its own.”
Rates go through a transparent regulatory process that includes the Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor and groups like the Citizens Action Coalition, according to NIPSCO. Recent rate cases have been resolved through settlement agreements and approved by the IURC, the statement said.
“When rates change, NIPSCO communicates with the press, customers and community stakeholders to explain why and what the expected impact may be, so customers are prepared,” the statement said. “We appreciate the opportunity to discuss the continued importance of strong, reliable and safe utility infrastructure and the investments we have made and will make in our system to ensure our customers and communities are served, even in extreme weather conditions like those we experienced this winter.
“NIPSCO will continue to focus on supporting customers who may need assistance. This week, NIPSCO also announced that no residential customer will have their service disconnected for nonpayment through May 15, continuing our commitment to supporting customers dealing with rising everyday costs. NIPSCO also held customer care center meetings in communities throughout our service territory to listen to our customers and instituted temporary customer programs to offer customers relief through March 31. Customers are encouraged to visit NIPSCO.com/FinancialSupport or contact our team to review their bill and explore options that best fit their situation. ”
Ben Inskeep, program director for Citizens Action, said that NIPSCO has the highest electric rates in the state.
NIPSCO electric customers pay a $14 fixed charge each month, Inskeep said, and it doesn’t change based on usage. The variable charge will change based on usage, and Inskeep said “a whole host of different surcharges” are also included on the variable charge.
“Utilities often combine a bunch of your charges together and just give you the total, so you don’t have the insight, and that bill transparency is not there,” Inskeep said.
Utilities will often charge residents for large investments “before they’re benefiting” ratepayers when something is still under construction.
Gas bills ranked eighth out of 19 for affordability in 2025, according to the organization’s numbers. Natural gas bills have gone up an average of about $35.66 in two years, Inskeep said.
Northwest Indiana residents have been concerned with high delivery charges on their gas bills, often saying that those fees are higher than usage charges. Inskeep said Tuesday that delivery charges are a combination of various fees, and they cover the cost of delivering gas to homes and can include funding pipelines, maintenance, safety and customer service.
“There’s a lot of different things wrapped up in delivery charges,” he said. “It’s not just delivery.”
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Bills have been high because of utility expenditures, including keeping coal plants open and coal ash cleanup that’s charged to customers, Inkseep said.
Inskeep told attendees that there are “10 solutions on affordability.” Solutions include eliminating the residential sales tax; reduce profit margins; eliminate bill trackers, which allow the utility to recover expenditures by adjusting rates on a quarterly or biannual basis; limit cost recovery; eliminate fees; require large customers to pay their share; retire expensive coal plants; have shareholders pay for coal ash cleanup; give customers more options; and prohibit private equities from buying utilities.
Citizens Action Coalition members encouraged concerned ratepayers to stay informed, get organized, attend informative events and take action. They also encouraged ratepayers to reach out to local officials who could help advocate on behalf of residents.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission is conducting statewide listening sessions following an investigative inquiry into five state utilities, including NIPSCO. The commission will hold a listening session at the Gary Public Library from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. April 13.
Citizens Action Coalition Executive Director Kerwin Olson encouraged residents to attend the upcoming listening session.
“I’m not sure what the goal is, but it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Olson said. “They’re talking back and forth with residents.”
Olson also explained measures that have been taken at the legislative level, including House Enrolled Act 1002, which was signed into law by Gov. Mike Braun Tuesday.
House Enrolled Act 1002 — authored by state Rep. Alaina Shonkwiler, R-Noblesville — allows qualified residential ratepayers to be placed on budget billing plans on July 1, and utilities will be prohibited from disconnecting low-income customers’ services during periods with extreme heat warnings. House Enrolled Act 1002 also ties utility profits to performance metrics, including affordability and service restoration, and utilities will use a three-year rate plan.
Although the Citizens Action Coalition supports the legislation, Olson said it still falls short. He expects that rates will continue to go up, even with the new law.
Olson encouraged attendees to continue reaching out to state legislators before the 2027 legislative session and express the need for more change.
“(House Enrolled Act) 1002 is not the solution,” he said. “There’s still work to do.”