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Battle over lawmaker emails rages on in Indiana Supreme Court

Posted by Laura Arnold / February 01, 2016 / Posted in 2015 Indiana General Assembly / No Comments

Battle over lawmaker emails rages on in Indiana Supreme Court

INDIANAPOLIS -- The battle over access to lawmaker emails and records continues to rage on at the Indiana Supreme Court.

Attorneys for the Energy and Policy Institute, Citizens Action Coalition and Common Cause Indiana filed a brief Monday in the Indiana Supreme Court arguing the Indiana House Republican Caucus and Rep. Eric Koch (R-Bedford) are subject to the Access to Public Records Act.

The brief cited a recent decision by the United States Supreme Court, “which found that the benefits of transparency embodied in state public records laws trumps any countervailing privacy considerations.”

The controversy stems from public records requests submitted by the Energy and Policy Institute out of Washington for emails, documents and other correspondence between Rep. Eric Koch and various groups.

Chief Counsel for the House Republican Caucus, Jill Carnell, denied the requests.

The House has said the public records laws do not apply to them .

William Groth, Indianapolis attorney for Common Cause and other groups, told Call 6 Investigates the implications for the case are “stunning,” especially if the Supreme Court decides the case can’t be considered or decided by a court.

PREVIOUS | Indiana attorney general clarifies stance over public records requests

“It would effectively remove the General Assembly and all its members from having to respond to requests from the media or members of the public for what APRA defines as public documents, meaning state legislators could operate secretly and non-transparently,” said Groth. “(Such a ruling would) usher in an era of legislative branch supremacy, which has dangerous implications for the future of the structural checks and balances we rely on to keep the humans who comprise each branch honest as well as responsive to the will of the people, particularly in light of the fact that due to gerrymandering the role of the minority party has been reduced to the point of near irrelevance and thus there are no longer any political checks on abuses by those holding political power.”

Geoffrey Slaughter declined to comment to RTV6 on the February 1 Supreme Court filing.

“I’m afraid I have no thoughts to share about a brief I’m just now seeing and haven’t yet read,” said Slaughter.

Slaughter argued in a January 13 Supreme Court brief that the House and Koch are not a “public agency” and legislator emails with constituents and staff are “an integral part of their constitutional authority to enact laws.”

Common Cause, the Citizens Action Coalition and the Energy and Policy Institute originally filed a lawsuit last year against the Indiana House Republican Caucus and Rep. Eric Koch (R-Bedford) alleging they violated the Indiana Access to Public Records Act by not providing access to lawmaker emails.

ALSO READ | Lawsuit filed in House records dispute

A judge dismissed the lawsuit.

PREVIOUS | Judge drops public records lawsuit against Ind. House

Last year, Common Cause Indiana and other groups filed an appeal and asked the Supreme Court to assume emergency jurisdiction over the case, thus bypassing the Court of Appeals.

Groth expects the court to schedule oral arguments in the near future.

Indiana Governor Pence Reappoints Carol Stephan as Chair of Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC)

Posted by Laura Arnold / February 01, 2016 / Posted in Uncategorized / No Comments

Governor Pence Reappoints Carol Stephan as Chair of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission

2/1/2016
Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence today reappointed Carol Stephan as chairperson of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC).

“Throughout Carol Stephen’s tenure at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, she has shown that she is a leader with integrity and I am pleased to reappoint her today,” said Governor Pence. “Her deep understanding and commitment to the commission’s work make her uniquely qualified for this role.”

Stephan, of Indianapolis, was appointed to the IURC in February of 2014 and became the first female Chair of the Commission in May 2014. Before her role as Chair, Stephan served as Assistant General Counsel for the IURC and has extensive experience in state government, having worked as General Counsel for the Indiana office of Utility Consumer Counselor, Interim Deputy Commissioner and Director of Partner Services for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, and Deputy Attorney General in the Bankruptcy/Inheritance Tax Division in the Office of the Attorney General of Indiana. She also spent time working with Goodwill Industries. Stephan earned her undergraduate degree from Indiana University and her law degree from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

To see a list and bios of the other four (4) members of the IURC, please see: http://www.in.gov/iurc/2378.htm

Joint Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Stakeholder Presentation Feb. 3, 2016

Posted by Laura Arnold / February 01, 2016 / Posted in Indiana Michigan Power Company (I&M), Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) / No Comments

Joint Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Stakeholder Presentation Feb. 3, 2016

Download Agenda HERE> Joint Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Stakeholder Presentation_Meeting Agenda (1)

Meeting Agenda

8:30 – 9:00 am Registration/Refreshments

9:00 – 9:15am Welcome – Safety Message – IPL Mark Maassel, Indiana Electric Association (IEA)

9:15 – 9:30 am Presentation 1 – Director’s Report Development Process – IURC, Bob Pauley 9:30 – 9:45 am Presentation 2 – IRP Public Advisory Process Overview – OUCC, Barbara Smith 9:45 – 10:00am Presentation 3 – IRP Building Blocks – IPL, Joan Soller, Director, Resource Planning

10:00 – 10:15am Break

10:15 – 10:45am Presentation 4 – Load Forecasting – Vectren, Matt Rice, Manager, Market Research & Analysis

10:45 – 11:30pm Presentation 5 – Resources – Duke, Scott Park, Director-IRP & Analytics, Midwest

11:30 – 12:15pm Lunch

12:15 – 1:00pm Presentation 6 – Scenarios & Sensitivities – IPL, Ted Leffler, Senior Risk Management Analyst

1:00 – 1:45pm Presentation 7 – RTOs 101 – NIPSCO, Paul Kelly, Director, Federal Regulatory Policy and Bill SeDoris, Director, Federal Policy

1:45 – 2:00pm Break

2:00 – 2:45pm Presentation 8 – Resource Modeling – I&M, Ismael Martinez, Jr., Senior Resource Planning Analyst

2:45 – 3:15 pm Day in Review/Feedback – Mark Maassel, IEA

3:15 – 3:30 pm Closing Remarks – Mark Maassel, IEA

Joint Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Stakeholder Session_Combined Presentation (1)

OUCC recommends substantial reduction to NIPSCO’s proposed electric rate increase

Posted by Laura Arnold / January 23, 2016 / Posted in Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC), Uncategorized / No Comments

OUCC NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: January 22, 2016

News Media Contact: Anthony Swinger, (317) 233-2747 or aswinger@oucc.IN.gov

OUCC recommends substantial reduction

to NIPSCO’s proposed electric rate increase

The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) is recommending a substantial reduction to the electric rate increase requested by Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO).

In a pending case before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC), NIPSCO is seeking nearly $126.6 million in new annual operating revenues for its electric utility. The OUCC, which represents consumer interests in IURC cases, has filed testimony recommending that the increase be limited to approximately $15.6 million.

“Between the base rates that were approved in 2011 and the multiple trackers that have effectively allowed NIPSCO to increase its rates since then, the facts show that NIPSCO’s electric utility is essentially financially healthy,” said Indiana Utility Consumer Counselor David Stippler. “The modest rate increase which we recommend today will help ensure that the utility has the revenue necessary to provide safe, reliable electric service throughout northern Indiana. However, in our view the increase should be fairly limited as demonstrated by the OUCC’s thorough analysis of NIPSCO’s request.”

In testimony filed today, the OUCC recommends:

• Keeping the utility’s flat, monthly electric residential and small commercial customer charges at their current levels. NIPSCO is proposing to raise the monthly residential charge from $11.00 to $20.00 while raising the monthly small commercial customer charge from $20.00 to $30.00. The OUCC’s testimony notes that the proposed customer charge increases would discourage energy efficiency, among other arguments against the changes.

• Lowering NIPSCO’s authorized return on equity to 8.7 percent. The utility’s current authorized return is 10.2 percent, and it is requesting an increase to 10.75 percent in this case.

• Denying the utility’s proposed early retirement date for Bailly Generating Station Unit 8 and corresponding depreciation costs.

• Modifying various line items pertaining to the electric utility’s operating expenses including personnel costs, operations of environmental compliance equipment, planned outage expenses, and vegetation management.

• Modifying NIPSCO’s proposed low-income electric assistance program by advocating for the creation of an assistance fund. NIPSCO customers, employees, and shareholders would be able to contribute to the fund voluntarily with the company matching the voluntary contributions.

In addition, the OUCC today filed written comments from 170 NIPSCO customers to be included in the case’s formal record. The IURC held a public field hearing in Hammond on December 14, 2015.

The utility’s rebuttal testimony is due February 12, 2016 with an IURC evidentiary hearing scheduled to start on February 29, 2016 in Indianapolis. While evidentiary hearings are open to the public, participation is typically limited to attorney and Commission questioning of technical witnesses who have filed testimony on behalf of the case’s formal parties.

NIPSCO provides electric utility service to approximately 461,000 customers in 20 northern Indiana counties. Its current electric base rates were approved in 2011.

Natural gas rates and charges are not at issue in this case.

In a separately pending case, NIPSCO is requesting IURC approval of a $1.33 billion infrastructure plan, to be accompanied by rate increases over the next seven years. The OUCC has not yet taken a position in that case and anticipates filing testimony in late March.

IURC Cause No. 44688

The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) represents Indiana consumer interests before state and federal bodies that regulate utilities. As a state agency, the OUCC’s mission is to represent all Indiana consumers to ensure quality, reliable utility services at the most reasonable prices possible through dedicated advocacy, consumer education, and creative problem solving.

Visit us at www.IN.gov/OUCC, www.twitter.com/IndianaOUCC, or www.facebook.com/IndianaOUCC.

NOTE: Other parties also prefiled testimony in this case on 1/22/16. IndianaDG will report on additional testimony as soon as it becomes available.

Tonight: Gov. Pence State of the State 7 pm; President Obama State of the Union 9 pm

Posted by Laura Arnold / January 12, 2016 / Posted in Uncategorized / No Comments

Indiana Governor Mike Pence will give his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the Indiana House and Indiana Senate beginning at 7:00 pm EST. Many local TV stations will cover the speech but you can also watch on-line HERE: http://in.gov/gov/

2016 State of the State

Stay tuned and then watch President Obama give his annual State of the Union address to the Congress at 9:00 pm EST. Local TV stations will cover or you can watch on-line HERE: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sotu

Later let us know what you thought about the two speeches.