Ind. House passed bill (HB-1924) to give Ind. Utility Regulatory ...
Ind. House passed bill (HB-1924) to give Ind. Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) authority to review and approve utility mergers. Bill passed House 61-37 Mon., but Ind. legislative observers predicted it would have tougher time in Republican-controlled Senate, seen as…
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generally more receptive to business interests such as utilities opposed to bill. Measure, which in part was legislature’s reaction to court-decreed IURC impotence during Ameritech-SBC merger of 1999, passed House with all Democrats and some Republicans in support. Meanwhile, related bill (HB-1181) to give IURC power to directly fine utilities for violating IURC regulations, which grew out of Ameritech service quality crisis of 2000, cleared House committee process Mon. with major amendment. Bill sent to House floor was amended to cap IURC fines at $2.5 million monthly rather than previous cap of 3% of offending utility’s annual revenues. If bill passes House as expected, utilities have vowed to lobby Senate heavily to further weaken or kill measure. Under current law, IURC must file state court lawsuit through county prosecutor for utility fines.