IURC approves 200% CenterPoint 'bill tracker' rate hike

EVANSVILLE — The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on Wednesday approved CenterPoint Energy's request to increase one of its bill trackers by more than 200%.

Back in July, CenterPoint requested to have its "reliability cost and revenue adjustment" tracker raised 221.82% for a residential customer.

The request would move the rate from $-0.007460 per kilowatt hour and to $0.009088. This will add approximately $16 a month to a resident's bill if they use 1,000 kilowatt hours.

The IURC approved that request in its Wednesday meeting, stating the new rate would stay in place until a new filing was made.

The trackers are a way for CenterPoint to recover costs outside of its base rates.

CenterPoint's authorized trackers make up about 12.4% of a residential customer’s typical electric bill as of June 2023, according to the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor.

The OUCC testified in this case that though the request was statutorily allowed, the increase could be spread over two periods to address concerns with affordability.

CenterPoint customers already pay the highest rates in the state, and this is not the only increase in front of the IURC.

In its testimony to the IURC, the OUCC recommended CenterPoint's request be reduced by 50% to an amount of $8.27 for the initial recovery period.

Ultimately the IURC decided that since both parties, the OUCC and CenterPoint, agreed the request itself was "properly calculated," it would not choose the recommendation of spreading out the increase.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IURC approves 200% CenterPoint 'bill tracker' rate hike