The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) has issued its ruling on new base rates for Indiana Michigan Power (I&M).
The IURC authorized I&M to adjust its rates by about $84 million, or a 5.7% overall increase. The amount the IURC approved is about 48% of I&M’s original request.
If applied to residential rates, it would result in an increase of approximately $10 for a typical residential customer using 1,000-kilowatt hours of energy per month.
The precise amount will be dependent on a customer’s specific account details and other factors that are being calculated following the Wednesday rate decision.
New rates will be phased-in over two steps, with the first occurring later in March, and the second in early 2021.
As a result of the IURC action, I&M plans to offer incentives to expand electric vehicle charging, supporting the electric grid and benefitting all customers.
The IM Plugged In program will offer rebates and special rates for charging electric cars overnight along with incentives for businesses and fleet vehicles.
The new rates include a change in the monthly residential service charge to adjust rates to more accurately reflect the true cost of service provided to each customer. Though most of a customer’s bill is based on the volume of electricity used, most of the actual costs are for infrastructure such as poles, wires, transformers, substations and much more.
Those costs do not vary with consumption. I&M’s monthly service charge for residential customers will be $15. This service charge is included in – not an addition to – the new rates.
