Indiana 2025 Regular Session

Indiana Senate Bill SB0097 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	Introduced Version
3	3	SENATE BILL No. 97
4	4	_____
5	5	DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
6	6	Citations Affected: IC 8-1.
7	7	Synopsis: Utility disconnections and customer data reports. Beginning
8	8	January 1, 2026, provides that from June 21 through September 23 (in
9	9	addition to the period from December 1 through March 15, under
10	10	current law) of any year, an electric or gas utility may not terminate
11	11	residential electric or gas service for an individual who is eligible for
12	12	and has applied for assistance from a home energy assistance program
13	13	administered by the lieutenant governor. Amends the same section of
14	14	the Indiana Code as follows: (1) Prohibits an electric, gas, or water
15	15	utility from terminating service for any residential customer on any of
16	16	the following days: (A) A Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. (B) A legal
17	17	holiday. (C) Any day, or after noon on the day preceding any day,
18	18	during which customer service representatives of the utility are not
19	19	available to respond to customer inquiries during regular business
20	20	hours. (2) Strikes a provision that authorizes the Indiana utility
21	21	regulatory commission (IURC) to establish a reasonable rate of interest
22	22	that a utility may charge on the unpaid balance of a delinquent
23	23	customer bill. (3) Prohibits an electric, gas, or water utility from
24	24	charging or collecting a deposit or reconnection fee as a condition of,
25	25	or in connection with, restoring service to a residential customer after
26	26	a termination of service for nonpayment. Requires the IURC to amend,
27	27	not later than December 31, 2025, its administrative rules as necessary
28	28	to conform the rules to these provisions. Requires a utility to: (1)
29	29	amend its residential tariffs as necessary to conform the tariffs to these
30	30	provisions; and (2) file with the IURC a petition for approval of each
31	31	amended tariff; not later than June 15, 2025. Requires a utility that: (1)
32	32	is under the jurisdiction of the IURC for the approval of rates and
33	33	(Continued next page)
34	34	Effective: Upon passage; July 1, 2025; January 1, 2026.
35	35	Jackson L
36	36	January 8, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Utilities.
37	37	2025 IN 97—LS 6452/DI 101 Digest Continued
38	38	charges; and (2) provides residential electric, natural gas, water, or
39	39	wastewater utility service at retail to customers and low income
40	40	customers in Indiana; to report to the IURC on a quarterly basis certain
41	41	data concerning customer accounts and low income customer accounts.
42	42	Provides that the first reports submitted to the IURC must include the
43	43	required information with respect to the third calendar quarter of 2025.
44	44	Provides that: (1) a utility shall report all required information in the
45	45	aggregate and in a manner that does not identify individual customers
46	46	and low income customers; and (2) the IURC may not require utilities
47	47	to disclose confidential and proprietary business information without
48	48	adequate protection of the information. Requires the IURC to adopt
49	49	rules to implement these provisions. Provides that, beginning in 2026,
50	50	the IURC shall annually compile and summarize the information
51	51	received from utilities for the previous calendar year and include the
52	52	summary in the IURC's annual report.
53	53	2025 IN 97—LS 6452/DI 1012025 IN 97—LS 6452/DI 101 Introduced
54	54	First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
55	55	PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
56	56	Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
57	57	additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
58	58	Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
59	59	provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
60	60	word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
61	61	a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
62	62	Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
63	63	between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
64	64	SENATE BILL No. 97
65	65	A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
66	66	utilities.
67	67	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
68	68	1 SECTION 1. IC 8-1-2-121, AS AMENDED BY P.L.181-2006,
69	69	2 SECTION 48, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
70	70	3 JANUARY 1, 2026]: Sec. 121. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision
71	71	4 of law:
72	72	5 (1) from December 1 through March 15; and
73	73	6 (2) from June 21 through September 23;
74	74	7 of any year, no an electric or gas utility, including a municipally
75	75	8 owned, privately owned, or cooperatively owned utility, shall may not
76	76	9 terminate residential electric or gas service for persons who are eligible
77	77	10 for and have applied for assistance from a heating home energy
78	78	11 assistance program administered under IC 4-4-33. The commission
79	79	12 shall implement procedures to ensure that electric or gas utility service
80	80	13 is continued while eligibility for such persons is being determined.
81	81	14 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an electric, gas,
82	82	15 or water utility (including a municipally owned, privately owned,
83	83	2025 IN 97—LS 6452/DI 101 2
84	84	1 or cooperatively owned utility) may not terminate residential
85	85	2 electric, gas, or water service for any residential customer of the
86	86	3 utility on any of the following days:
87	87	4 (1) A Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
88	88	5 (2) A legal holiday (as defined in IC 1-1-9-1).
89	89	6 (3) Any day, or after noon on the day preceding any day,
90	90	7 during which customer service representatives of the utility
91	91	8 are not available to respond to inquiries from customers
92	92	9 during regular business hours.
93	93	10 (b) (c) Any electric or gas utility (including a municipally owned,
94	94	11 privately owned, or cooperatively owned utility) shall provide any
95	95	12 residential customer whose account is delinquent an opportunity to
96	96	13 enter into a reasonable amortization agreement with such company to
97	97	14 pay the delinquent account. Such an amortization agreement must
98	98	15 provide the customer with adequate opportunity to apply for and
99	99	16 receive the benefits of any available public assistance program. An
100	100	17 amortization agreement is subject to amendment on the customer's
101	101	18 request if there is a change in the customer's financial circumstances.
102	102	19 (c) The commission may establish a reasonable rate of interest
103	103	20 which a utility may charge on the unpaid balance of a customer's
104	104	21 delinquent bill that may not exceed the rate established by the
105	105	22 commission under section 34.5 of this chapter.
106	106	23 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an electric, gas,
107	107	24 or water utility (including a municipally owned, privately owned,
108	108	25 or cooperatively owned utility) may not charge or collect any:
109	109	26 (1) deposit;
110	110	27 (2) reconnection fee; or
111	111	28 (3) other similar charge;
112	112	29 as a condition of, or in connection with, restoring service to a
113	113	30 residential customer following a termination of service for
114	114	31 nonpayment.
115	115	32 (d) (e) The commission shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to carry
116	116	33 out the provisions of this section.
117	117	34 (e) (f) This section does not prohibit an electric or gas utility from
118	118	35 terminating residential utility service upon a request of a customer or
119	119	36 under the following circumstances:
120	120	37 (1) If a condition dangerous or hazardous to life, physical safety,
121	121	38 or property exists.
122	122	39 (2) Upon order by any court, the commission, or other duly
123	123	40 authorized public authority.
124	124	41 (3) If fraudulent or unauthorized use of electricity or gas is
125	125	42 detected and the utility has reasonable grounds to believe the
126	126	2025 IN 97—LS 6452/DI 101 3
127	127	1 affected customer is responsible for such use.
128	128	2 (4) If the utility's regulating or measuring equipment has been
129	129	3 tampered with and the utility has reasonable grounds to believe
130	130	4 that the affected customer is responsible for such tampering.
131	131	5 SECTION 2. IC 8-1-6.1 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS
132	132	6 A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
133	133	7 1, 2025]:
134	134	8 Chapter 6.1. Quarterly Residential Customer Reports by
135	135	9 Utilities
136	136	10 Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "budget billing arrangement"
137	137	11 means a levelized payment arrangement that:
138	138	12 (1) is entered into by a utility and:
139	139	13 (A) a customer; or
140	140	14 (B) a low income customer;
141	141	15 of the utility;
142	142	16 (2) allows the customer or low income customer to pay for
143	143	17 utility service in equal monthly installments; and
144	144	18 (3) involves a reconciliation mechanism in which:
145	145	19 (A) the amount of utility service actually used by the
146	146	20 customer or low income customer during a specified period
147	147	21 is compared with the amount of utility service for which
148	148	22 the customer or low income customer was billed under the
149	149	23 arrangement during the specified period; and
150	150	24 (B) the account of the customer or low income customer is
151	151	25 either billed or credited, as appropriate, for any
152	152	26 discrepancy identified under clause (A).
153	153	27 Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "customer" refers to a
154	154	28 residential customer who:
155	155	29 (1) has agreed to pay for utility service from a utility; and
156	156	30 (2) is not a low income customer.
157	157	31 Sec. 3. As used in this chapter, "low income customer" refers to
158	158	32 a residential customer who is part of a household that:
159	159	33 (1) has agreed to pay for utility service from a utility; and
160	160	34 (2) satisfies either of the following:
161	161	35 (A) Is eligible for and has applied for assistance from:
162	162	36 (i) a home energy assistance program administered
163	163	37 under IC 4-4-33; or
164	164	38 (ii) a low income household water assistance program
165	165	39 administered by the Indiana housing and community
166	166	40 development authority.
167	167	41 (B) Is eligible for one (1) or more of the following:
168	168	42 (i) The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
169	169	2025 IN 97—LS 6452/DI 101 4
170	170	1 (TANF) program.
171	171	2 (ii) The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
172	172	3 Program (SNAP).
173	173	4 (iii) The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
174	174	5 Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
175	175	6 (iv) Free or reduced price school meals.
176	176	7 (v) The federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
177	177	8 program.
178	178	9 (vi) Medicaid.
179	179	10 (vii) The healthy Indiana plan under IC 12-15-44.5.
180	180	11 (viii) The federal Child Care and Development Fund
181	181	12 (CCDF) grant program or the federal Head Start
182	182	13 program.
183	183	14 (ix) Public housing or housing assistance programs.
184	184	15 (x) Other means tested programs.
185	185	16 Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, "payment plan" means a
186	186	17 payment arrangement that:
187	187	18 (1) is entered into by a utility and:
188	188	19 (A) a customer; or
189	189	20 (B) a low income customer;
190	190	21 of the utility; and
191	191	22 (2) allows the customer or low income customer to:
192	192	23 (A) pay current or past due amounts for utility service in
193	193	24 lower amounts or over an extended period of time, or
194	194	25 according to another agreed upon schedule;
195	195	26 (B) defer the payment of current or past due amounts for
196	196	27 utility service to some future date; or
197	197	28 (C) receive a forbearance with respect to the payment of
198	198	29 certain amounts owed.
199	199	30 Sec. 5. As used in this chapter, "protected account" means an
200	200	31 account that:
201	201	32 (1) is for utility service that:
202	202	33 (A) is provided to a:
203	203	34 (i) customer; or
204	204	35 (ii) low income customer;
205	205	36 who is vulnerable because of advanced age, serious illness,
206	206	37 or disability; and
207	207	38 (B) is not subject to termination or disconnection for
208	208	39 nonpayment or for which termination or disconnection for
209	209	40 nonpayment is restricted during specified periods; or
210	210	41 (2) otherwise qualifies as a protected account under rules
211	211	42 adopted by the commission under section 9 of this chapter.
212	212	2025 IN 97—LS 6452/DI 101 5
213	213	1 Sec. 6. As used in this chapter, "utility" means a utility, however
214	214	2 organized, that:
215	215	3 (1) provides utility service to customers and low income
216	216	4 customers in Indiana; and
217	217	5 (2) is under the jurisdiction of the commission for the
218	218	6 approval of rates and charges.
219	219	7 Sec. 7. As used in this chapter, "utility service" means
220	220	8 residential:
221	221	9 (1) electric;
222	222	10 (2) natural gas;
223	223	11 (3) water; or
224	224	12 (4) wastewater;
225	225	13 service that is provided at retail.
226	226	14 Sec. 8. (a) A utility shall submit to the commission quarterly
227	227	15 reports containing the information set forth in this subsection with
228	228	16 respect to the calendar quarter covered by the report. Beginning
229	229	17 with the calendar quarter specified in subsection (d), the reports
230	230	18 required by this subsection shall be submitted to the commission in
231	231	19 the manner and form prescribed by the commission and not later
232	232	20 than thirty (30) days after the last day of the calendar quarter
233	233	21 covered by the report. A report submitted to the commission under
234	234	22 this subsection must include the following information with respect
235	235	23 to customers (not including low income customers with respect to
236	236	24 whom a report is required under subsection (b)) for each month in
237	237	25 the calendar quarter covered by the report, including, to the extent
238	238	26 available, a comparison of the same information for the same
239	239	27 month of the immediately preceding calendar year:
240	240	28 (1) The total number of open customer accounts.
241	241	29 (2) The total amount billed by the utility for all open customer
242	242	30 accounts.
243	243	31 (3) The total gross receipts received by the utility for all open
244	244	32 customer accounts.
245	245	33 (4) The total number of open protected accounts for
246	246	34 customers.
247	247	35 (5) The total number of open customer accounts that were
248	248	36 delinquent for at least sixty (60) days and not more than
249	249	37 ninety (90) days.
250	250	38 (6) The total dollar amount owed with respect to the accounts
251	251	39 identified under subdivision (5).
252	252	40 (7) The total number of open customer accounts that were
253	253	41 delinquent for more than ninety (90) days.
254	254	42 (8) The total dollar amount owed with respect to the accounts
255	255	2025 IN 97—LS 6452/DI 101 6
256	256	1 identified under subdivision (7).
257	257	2 (9) The total number of customer accounts referred for
258	258	3 collection to an attorney or a collection agency.
259	259	4 (10) The total number of new payment plans entered into
260	260	5 between the utility and customers of the utility.
261	261	6 (11) The total number of new budget billing arrangements
262	262	7 entered into between the utility and customers of the utility.
263	263	8 (12) The total number of customer accounts sent a notice of
264	264	9 disconnection for nonpayment.
265	265	10 (13) The total number of utility service disconnections
266	266	11 performed for nonpayment.
267	267	12 (14) The total number of utility service restorations after
268	268	13 disconnection for nonpayment.
269	269	14 (15) The average duration of utility service disconnection for
270	270	15 customer accounts identified under subdivision (14).
271	271	16 (16) The total number of customer accounts written off as
272	272	17 uncollectible.
273	273	18 (17) The total dollar value of customer accounts identified
274	274	19 under subdivision (16).
275	275	20 (18) The total dollar value of recovered bad debt with respect
276	276	21 to customer accounts.
277	277	22 (19) Any other relevant information concerning customer
278	278	23 accounts that the commission:
279	279	24 (A) considers appropriate in evaluating:
280	280	25 (i) the payment history of customers; and
281	281	26 (ii) the billing and related practices of utilities with
282	282	27 respect to customers; and
283	283	28 (B) requires under rules adopted under section 9 of this
284	284	29 chapter.
285	285	30 (b) A utility shall submit to the commission quarterly reports
286	286	31 containing the information set forth in this subsection with respect
287	287	32 to the calendar quarter covered by the report. Beginning with the
288	288	33 calendar quarter specified in subsection (d), the reports required
289	289	34 by this subsection shall be submitted to the commission in the
290	290	35 manner and form prescribed by the commission and not later than
291	291	36 thirty (30) days after the last day of the calendar quarter covered
292	292	37 by the report. A report submitted to the commission under this
293	293	38 subsection must include the following information with respect to
294	294	39 low income customers for each month in the calendar quarter
295	295	40 covered by the report, including, to the extent available, a
296	296	41 comparison of the same information for the same month of the
297	297	42 immediately preceding calendar year:
298	298	2025 IN 97—LS 6452/DI 101 7
299	299	1 (1) The total number of open low income customer accounts.
300	300	2 (2) The total amount billed by the utility for all open low
301	301	3 income customer accounts.
302	302	4 (3) The total gross receipts received by the utility for all open
303	303	5 low income customer accounts.
304	304	6 (4) Of the total amount of gross receipts reported under
305	305	7 subdivision (3), the total amount that was paid through:
306	306	8 (A) a home energy assistance program administered under
307	307	9 IC 4-4-33; or
308	308	10 (B) a low income household water assistance program
309	309	11 administered by the Indiana housing and community
310	310	12 development authority.
311	311	13 (5) The total number of low income customers who received
312	312	14 assistance from:
313	313	15 (A) a home energy assistance program administered under
314	314	16 IC 4-4-33; or
315	315	17 (B) a low income household water assistance program
316	316	18 administered by the Indiana housing and community
317	317	19 development authority.
318	318	20 (6) The total number of open protected accounts for low
319	319	21 income customers.
320	320	22 (7) The total number of open low income customer accounts
321	321	23 that were delinquent for at least sixty (60) days and not more
322	322	24 than ninety (90) days.
323	323	25 (8) The total dollar amount owed with respect to the accounts
324	324	26 identified under subdivision (7).
325	325	27 (9) The total number of open low income customer accounts
326	326	28 that were delinquent for more than ninety (90) days.
327	327	29 (10) The total dollar amount owed with respect to the
328	328	30 accounts identified under subdivision (9).
329	329	31 (11) The total number of low income customer accounts
330	330	32 referred for collection to an attorney or a collection agency.
331	331	33 (12) The total number of new payment plans entered into
332	332	34 between the utility and low income customers of the utility.
333	333	35 (13) The total number of new budget billing arrangements
334	334	36 entered into between the utility and low income customers of
335	335	37 the utility.
336	336	38 (14) The total number of low income customer accounts sent
337	337	39 a notice of disconnection for nonpayment.
338	338	40 (15) The total number of utility service disconnections
339	339	41 performed for nonpayment.
340	340	42 (16) The total number of utility service restorations after
341	341	2025 IN 97—LS 6452/DI 101 8
342	342	1 disconnection for nonpayment.
343	343	2 (17) The average duration of utility service disconnection for
344	344	3 low income customer accounts identified under subdivision
345	345	4 (16).
346	346	5 (18) The total number of low income customer accounts
347	347	6 written off as uncollectible.
348	348	7 (19) The total dollar value of low income customer accounts
349	349	8 identified under subdivision (18).
350	350	9 (20) The total dollar value of recovered bad debt with respect
351	351	10 to low income customer accounts.
352	352	11 (21) Any other relevant information concerning low income
353	353	12 customer accounts that the commission:
354	354	13 (A) considers appropriate in evaluating:
355	355	14 (i) the payment history of low income customers; and
356	356	15 (ii) the billing and related practices of utilities with
357	357	16 respect to low income customers; and
358	358	17 (B) requires under rules adopted under section 9 of this
359	359	18 chapter.
360	360	19 (c) A utility may report the information and data required
361	361	20 under subsections (a) and (b) at the same time and on the same
362	362	21 form, if so prescribed by the commission in rules adopted under
363	363	22 section 9 of this chapter.
364	364	23 (d) The first reports submitted to the commission under
365	365	24 subsections (a) and (b) must include the information set forth in
366	366	25 subsections (a) and (b) with respect to the third calendar quarter
367	367	26 of 2025.
368	368	27 (e) A utility shall report all information and data required
369	369	28 under subsections (a) and (b) in the aggregate and in a manner that
370	370	29 does not identify individual customers and low income customers
371	371	30 of the utility.
372	372	31 (f) This section does not empower the commission to require
373	373	32 utilities to disclose confidential and proprietary business
374	374	33 information without adequate protection of the information. The
375	375	34 commission shall exercise all necessary caution to avoid disclosure
376	376	35 of any confidential information reported by utilities under this
377	377	36 section.
378	378	37 Sec. 9. The commission shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to
379	379	38 implement this chapter.
380	380	39 Sec. 10. Beginning in 2026, the commission shall annually
381	381	40 compile and summarize the information received from utilities
382	382	41 under section 8 of this chapter for the previous calendar year and
383	383	42 include the commission's summary of the information in the
384	384	2025 IN 97—LS 6452/DI 101 9
385	385	1 commission's annual report under IC 8-1-1-14.
386	386	2 SECTION 3. [EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE] (a) As used in this
387	387	3 SECTION, "commission" refers to the Indiana utility regulatory
388	388	4 commission created by IC 8-1-1-2.
389	389	5 (b) As used in this SECTION, "utility" means an electric, gas,
390	390	6 or water utility, including a municipally owned, privately owned,
391	391	7 or cooperatively owned utility, subject to IC 8-1-2-121, as amended
392	392	8 by this act.
393	393	9 (c) Not later than December 31, 2025, the commission shall
394	394	10 amend the following rules of the commission as necessary to
395	395	11 conform the rules with IC 8-1-2-121, as amended by this act:
396	396	12 (1) 170 IAC 4.
397	397	13 (2) 170 IAC 5.
398	398	14 (3) 170 IAC 6.
399	399	15 (4) Any other rule that:
400	400	16 (A) has been adopted by the commission; and
401	401	17 (B) is inconsistent with IC 8-1-2-121, as amended by this
402	402	18 act.
403	403	19 (d) Not later than June 15, 2025, a utility shall do the following:
404	404	20 (1) Amend any tariff of the utility that:
405	405	21 (A) is in effect on April 29, 2025, for residential customers
406	406	22 of the utility; and
407	407	23 (B) is inconsistent with IC 8-1-2-121, as amended by this
408	408	24 act;
409	409	25 to conform the tariff with IC 8-1-2-121, as amended by this
410	410	26 act.
411	411	27 (2) File with the commission a petition for approval of each
412	412	28 tariff amended under subdivision (1).
413	413	29 (e) The commission shall either:
414	414	30 (1) approve an amended tariff filed by a utility under
415	415	31 subsection (d)(2); or
416	416	32 (2) require the utility to make any changes to the utility's
417	417	33 amended tariff necessary to conform the tariff with
418	418	34 IC 8-1-2-121, as amended by this act, as determined by the
419	419	35 commission;
420	420	36 not later than thirty (30) days after receipt of the utility's petition
421	421	37 under subsection (d)(2).
422	422	38 (f) This SECTION expires January 1, 2027.
423	423	39 SECTION 4. An emergency is declared for this act.
424	424	2025 IN 97—LS 6452/DI 101