Consumer advocates: CenterPoint rate increase unfair to residents, favors industrial companies

The southern Indiana utility CenterPoint has proposed a settlement in its request to raise customers’ rates. While companies like Toyota and Marathon Petroleum have signed on to the settlement, the city of Evansville and consumer advocates haven’t.

CenterPoint Energy wants to recover the cost of things like replacing poles and lines, smart meters, and handling its coal ash waste.

Under the settlement, the utility would get $38 million less than what it originally asked for. The average resident would now see a $35 a month increase on their bill instead of $47.

But Kerwin Olson with the Citizens Action Coalition said industrial companies would also pay a lower share.

“It still creates really unfair, unbalanced cost allocation that favors large industrials at the expense of residential customers and everybody else. And the community just can’t afford it,” he said.

READ MORE: More than 300 attend afternoon CenterPoint electric rate case hearing in Evansville

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Residents with CenterPoint Energy already pay more than any other investor-owned utility in the state, according to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission’s annual report.

The company said it was still looking over responses to the settlement and declined to comment. The IURC will ultimately decide whether to accept the settlement.

Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.