The Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, an organization that researches and promotes public policies to help Hoosier families achieve and maintain financial well-being, released a new report called “‘Billed to the Breaking Point’: Harms from Indiana’s High Electricity Costs”.
This study examines the impact of increasing electricity costs and reduced energy cost supports on Hoosier households across the state. Over the course of 2023, Indiana’s big five investor-owned utilities disconnected 174,015 Hoosier households from electricity.
The Institute finds that even as CEOs of investor-owned utility companies take home millions in compensation packages, increasing numbers of everyday Hoosiers are unable to afford the rising costs of electricity. This most likely stems from estimates finding that Hoosiers’ electricity costs have increased by 33 percent between 2012 and 2022, well above the national average increase of 19 percent.
Simultaneously, present policies offered at the federal level including the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) only support 16 percent of eligible households, with the remaining 84 percent of households in need going unassisted during this electricity crisis.
As Hoosiers are readying to enter winter months of increasing cold, the Institute offers policy insights and reflects consumer needs to assist the public in this critical time; particularly with recent requests from such utilities to increase rates further in coming years.
The full report by the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute can be read online by clicking here.
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