By GARRETT BERGQUIST
WISH-TV | wisthv.com
Lawmakers on Wednesday said Indiana’s utility regulations need major changes to accommodate new energy sources.
A joint legislative panel wrapped up two years of work when it approved a set of recommendations for lawmakers to consider next session. They include crafting safety regulations for battery storage, small modular reactors and hydrogen facilities; exploring multi-year utility rate plans; and authorizing energy pilot programs including integration of alternative fuels. Committee chair Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, said one example would be mixing hydrogen with natural gas prior to burning it in power plants, a technique that has been shown to reduce carbon emissions.
“Many of (the recommendations) have to do with reliability,” he said. “What we saw in California, what we’re seeing in Europe where we moved rapidly into renewables and then not have adequate backup.”
The recommendations also include expanding the use of time-varying price structures, which would allow utilities to change their prices at different times during the day in response to demand. Environmental advocates claim such pricing leads to lower overall consumer prices and reduces emissions.
Two Democrats on the panel voted against adopting the report after committee members rejected a series of proposals from Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington. Among other things, Pierce wanted to recommend state funding for utility assistance programs and to create a supplemental mold remediation program to prevent low-income households from being rejected for energy upgrades due to health issues. Pierce said he had no issue with the report’s existing recommendations, but the panel failed to address some of Indiana’s most pressing energy needs.
“On promoting distributed energy, we could be doing better there. Energy efficiency, we could be doing better there,” he said. “And certainly, I think that we, as a task force should really be signaling to the General Assembly that the fire bell is ringing now on affordability of residential utility rates with what we are going to face this winter.”
The committee’s report does not automatically translate into policy action. That will be up to lawmakers when they return to the Statehouse in January.