On Friday, February 27, the Indiana House of Representatives and Senate completed the 2026 Legislative Session and adjourned Sine Die. Upon final adjournment, 80 Senate bills, 83 House bills, and one Senate Joint Resolution made it across the finish line and were sent to Governor Braun for signature into law. No vetoes were issued and the Governor signed all but one bill into law. Much of this year’s session was focused on affordability and reducing government inefficiencies to the benefit of Hoosiers. For IMPA and our municipal electric utilities, we watched all legislation for possible impact on our interests, with a particular focus on legislation impacting the electric industry.

House Enrolled Act 1002 was the major energy legislation this session with the goal of addressing electric utility affordability. HEA 1002 contains several provisions dealing with utility budget billing (being renamed “levelized billing”), utility disconnection and reconnection policies during the summer, performance-based ratemaking for the IOUs, IURC action during emergencies declared by the Governor, quarterly reporting of certain customer information to the OUCC, and the creation of a Low-Income Assistance Program for Electric Utility Service. Provisions in the legislation pertaining to performance based ratemaking impacted the IOUs, while the provisions dealing with budget billing, quarterly reporting to the OUCC, and the low-income assistance program applied to all rate-regulated electric utilities, including the IOUs and the three municipal electric utilities that remain under IURC jurisdiction for rates and charges – Anderson, Auburn, and Frankfort. As approved by the General Assembly, IMPA’s concerns were addressed and HEA 1002 does exempt the three rate-regulated municipal electric utilities from the mandated provisions dealing with levelized (budget) billing, the OUCC reporting requirements, and the creation of a Low-Income Customer Assistance Program.

House Enrolled Act 1368 requires a utility to accept certain methods of payment from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for utility service provided to a property owned by the DNR. It prohibits a utility from limiting or restricting the: (1) dollar amount to less than $10,000; or (2) the number of allowable payment transactions for a singular invoice to less than five; with respect to a payment made by one of the specified payment methods. It provides that for any singular property owned by the DNR, the DNR may request from a utility a consolidated bill for the property. It requires a utility that receives such a request to provide the DNR with a singular invoice for the entire property unless the utility is unable to do so because of billing limitations or other operational constraints. HEA 1368 also requires the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) to obtain the primary enforcement authority (primacy) from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate Class VI underground injection wells. It grants the NRC authority to adopt rules to regulate Class VI underground injection wells. Finally, the bill provides a mechanism and regulatory scheme for underground storage of carbon dioxide in Indiana.

Several Senate bills regarding utilities were also approved, including Senate Enrolled Act 240, which requires electric utilities that file Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) to analyze the use of Surplus Interconnection Service (SIS) – defined as a portion of interconnection service that has not been used and is not expected to be needed and that can be utilized at various facilities. The measure also directs the IURC to study surplus interconnection service use (scope, transmission constraints, demand growth, other relevant aspects), requires utilities to provide information, allows the IURC to request information from third party facility owners/operators, to determine confidentiality, to consult stakeholders, and to report findings in the commission’s annual report before October 1, 2027.

Additionally, Senate Enrolled Act 241 authorizes a conservancy district providing water service to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the IURC if the conservancy district serves less than 3,000 customers instead of 2,000 customers. This broadens the applicability of existing regulations to include more utility providers. SEA 241 also expands the definition and recoverability of “service enhancement improvements,” including chemical and power costs, and details procedures for their recalculation and inclusion in rate adjustments. New provisions allow utilities to recover 100% of certain costs without deferral and establish processes for recalculating and adjusting rates annually.

Lastly, Senate Enrolled Act 258 concerns nuclear facility permitting. It repeals provisions in state statute that prohibit the construction or operation, or increasing output, of a nuclear facility without a permit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). It also repeals the requirement that the Environmental Rules Board (ERB) adopt rules regarding the issuance of a permit for and the operation of a nuclear facility. Additional language is repealed requiring IDEM to conduct public hearings on a proposed facility. The measure requires a person proposing to construct a nuclear facility to file with IDEM an environmental feasibility report concurrently with the filing of documents required to be filed with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Though the legislative session has wrapped for the year, IMPA’s Government Relations team will continue to monitor any developments at the state and federal levels. Through participation and close monitoring of the Indiana General Assembly and Congress, IMPA works to ensure that the needs and concerns of the Agency’s 61 member communities are represented.