Community Opposes Increased Utility Bills from AES

Darcy Staser, 51, stood before state government officials to plead with them to prevent AES Indiana from increasing electricity bills. She was still dressed for work when she testified on August 21.

Staser's power had been shut off since late May, and she chose to pay her car repair and mortgage over her electric bill, leaving her with an outstanding balance of $2,000. "Basically living with battery-powered lamps and fans," she said.

AES is seeking a 13.5% increase in electric bills due to rising costs for material and labor. If approved, AES estimates that a family using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity would see an increase to their monthly bill of about $21.

Many attendees at the field hearing felt that the request from AES is greedy. "I'm concerned that this rate increase is fully because of profit motive," said Lucas Waterfill, a 34-year-old resident of the Twin Aire neighborhood.

Others argued that they don't want to be charged more money when they're already dealing with power outages. "Asking us to pay more for an unreliable service is fundamentally unfair," said Clark Mathes, a 73-year-old member of the Bates-Hendricks Neighborhood Association.

The hearing also featured acts of kindness, as two strangers offered to pay off Staser's outstanding balance after her testimony.

What AES wants

AES already has the highest approved profit margin among investor-owned utilities in Indiana at 9.9%. The company is seeking a rate increase to raise its profit margin to 10.7%, which would translate to an estimated $417 million in profits in 2026.

Some attendees were skeptical of AES's reasons for seeking the rate increase, citing Andrés Gluski, the CEO of AES Indiana's parent company, who made $13.4 million in 2024. "And here you're asking residents of Indianapolis to subsidize and take on more," said Jen Ward, a 50-year-old resident of Franklin Township.

A final decision from the commission is expected in the spring of 2026.