LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) is accusing Duke Energy of collecting nearly $90 million more from customers than state regulators approved.
In a June 4 filing, the OUCC said the extra revenue was not authorized in Duke Energy Indiana’s 2025 rate order from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC), according to reporting from FOX 59.
The agency also argued IURC Chairman Andy Zay and Chief Administrative Law Judge Loraine L. Seyfried wrongly allowed Duke to keep collecting the money.
"…The Presiding Officers' conclusion…erroneously allows Duke to recover over $86.5 Million more annual at ratepayers' expense," the filing said.
In a separate filing dated May 27, Zay and Seyfried concluded Duke Energy was complying with its rate order and said the OUCC's arguments lacked merit.
They argued the the rate order included footnotes indicating the approved utility rates were "subject to refinement," meaning it could still be adjusted slightly.
However, Ben Inskeep with the Citizens Action Coalition (CAC) said those refinements are meant to be significantly smaller, and should not result in a $90 million difference.
"Usually, we're talking maybe small differences in the hundreds of thousands or low millions for a utility like Duke Energy Indiana that's collecting more than a billion dollars from customers every year," Inskeep told FOX59. "We would never see a $90 million difference…It’s not just, you know, making a small adjustment to implement an order. It’s actually changing the substance of the order."
The CAC and the OUCC, along with several other ratepayer advocacy groups, are appealing Zay's findings. That appeal process could take several months.
Inskeep said the stakes are high because Duke serves customers in 69 of Indiana’s 92 counties.
"There are hundreds of thousands of Duke Energy Indiana customers," Inskeep said. "These customers have been charged month on end at rates that are higher than the commission authorized."
The groups said if Duke over-collected, customers should be refunded.
Olivia Rivera, with the OUCC, said the organization is "very much hoping" the appeal will considered. She said Duke could collect millions more annually if things don't change, and that it could set a dangerous precedent for future rate decisions.
"In theory, in the future, there could be an issue where more money is approved by just one or two people, and we believe that it should be the full commission," Rivera said.
In response, Duke provided the following statement to FOX59:
"Based on the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission’s most recent bill survey, Duke Energy currently has the lowest residential rates for an average customer on our system. We followed the instructions in the commission’s order. Since that time, on three different occasions, the commission’s staff and most recently the commission’s presiding officers in the case, reviewed and approved how we implemented the commission’s decision."
FOX59 said the IURC declined to comment because the case remains active.
