On July 15, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission opened two formal investigations into how the state's investor-owned utilities set their rates — and one targets Indiana utility tracker charges, the line items that reset most often on your power bill and get the least scrutiny. If you run a plant on AES Indiana, CenterPoint, Duke, Indiana Michigan Power, or NIPSCO, the outcome will shape a piece of your electricity cost that most operators never audit. Here's what happened and the dates you need on your calendar.

IURC Opens Dual Investigations Into ROE and Indiana Utility Tracker Charges

Chairman Anthony Swinger and Commissioner Bob Deig announced two investigations: one into return on equity — the profit portion of your rate — and one into tracker charges, the components that stack on top of base rates between rate cases with limited review. Trackers include TDSIC, fuel adjustment charges, RTO adjustment charges, and environmental compliance recovery, and they apply across all five Indiana investor-owned utilities. The OUCC has already publicly pushed for a 9.1% ROE against the 9.5% the commission approved for AES Indiana in a contested 3-1 vote. Swinger is targeting year-end completion on both, ahead of the 2027 legislative session. For an operator, this is the rare moment when the reset-heavy part of your bill is actually under a microscope.

$33.4 Billion AES Acquisition Faces No Indiana Regulatory Review

The IURC's own affordability report flagged that Indiana has no authority to review the pending $33.4 billion acquisition of AES Corporation — AES Indiana's parent — by a consortium that includes BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners, CalPERS, the Qatar Investment Authority, and EQT's Infrastructure VI fund. The deal is expected to close in late 2026 or early 2027, and the commission is asking the General Assembly to expand oversight to cover parent-company mergers. The next concrete milestone is a pair of OUCC technical conferences on August 7, which will set the parameters for Indiana Michigan Power's imminent rate case. Pull your bills and quantify your tracker-driven share before that date.

Riverside Mfg. Signals a Second Fort Wayne Expansion

Riverside Mfg. opened its new Fort Wayne headquarters at the former ITT Aerospace site on July 8 — a $10 million-plus investment consolidating four Huntertown buildings into a single 170,000-square-foot facility, with 30 jobs added since 2025 and 50 more expected next year. But CEO Fred Merritt told Inside INdiana Business he expects the count could reach 150, tied to another opportunity that may fill the vacated Huntertown campus. That's an on-record signal that Riverside's empty 100,000-square-foot Huntertown site could reopen as a dedicated production location. Riverside sits in the sub-tier beneath BAE Systems' AMPV ramp, and Fort Wayne's ITAR-cleared electronics assembly labor pool is already tight — 150 net new positions would compound the pressure on the same candidates you're recruiting.

Kimball Drops "Electronics" as Medical Work Carries the Company

Kimball Electronics completed phase one of its rebrand to Kimball Solutions on July 1, starting with its Jasper and Indianapolis facilities, with the full corporate name change slated for July 2027 pending a Share Owner vote. The reason is in the numbers: the medical vertical grew 15% year over year while total revenue fell 5%. The legacy electronics-manufacturing-services business is contracting while medical carries the company, and dropping "Electronics" is a deliberate move to re-rate toward higher-multiple contract manufacturing. If you source PCB assemblies, precision plastics, or EMS work from Kimball, find out now whether their production queue has already shifted to follow their revenue mix.

Gary Works Hiring Push Tightens Skilled Trades and Tinplate Supply

U.S. Steel's Gary Works hiring event and $900 million 2026 investment — including a Tin Mill restart targeting 225 jobs — pull from the same skilled-trades pool that Riverside and BAE are recruiting. If you source tinplate, domestic capacity is thin during the ramp: Ohio Coatings, residual Cleveland-Cliffs tin output, and tariff-burdened imports are the near-term options until the Tin Mill reaches full operation in early 2027. That's a 12-to-18-month supply window to model now.

Questions for Your Morning Huddle

Q: What are tracker charges on my Indiana electric bill?
A: Tracker charges are cost-recovery line items — like TDSIC, fuel adjustment, RTO adjustment, and environmental compliance charges — that stack on top of your base rate and reset between rate cases with limited regulatory scrutiny. They apply across all five Indiana investor-owned utilities, and the IURC's July 15 investigation is the first hard look at them in years.

Q: What is the next IURC date I should have on my calendar?
A: August 7, when the OUCC holds two technical conferences. The parameters set that day will define the floor for Indiana Michigan Power's imminent rate case, so pull 12 months of bills and quantify your tracker-driven cost share before then.

Q: Does the $33.4 billion AES Indiana acquisition need Indiana approval?
A: No. The IURC's own affordability report confirmed Indiana currently has no authority to review the pending $33.4 billion acquisition of AES Indiana's parent company, and the commission is asking the General Assembly to close that gap. The deal is expected to close in late 2026 or early 2027.

Q: How could the Riverside and Gary Works expansions affect my hiring?
A: Both pull from the same northeast Indiana and Lake County skilled-trades pool — electronics assemblers, ITAR-cleared technicians, and industrial electricians. Riverside's potential 150 hires and the Gary Works ramp tighten that pool further, so get your retention strategy in front of your team now rather than after those announcements land.

The Bottom Line

The common thread today is timing. Tracker reform, the AES ownership gap, and a tightening trades market all have windows that close before the outcomes are visible. The operators who quantify their exposure now — tracker share, tinplate sourcing, and workforce retention — keep options the ones who wait won't have. Start by mapping your bill: the TEG Energy Decision Blueprint walks you through pulling 12 months of statements and isolating the tracker-driven share of your electricity cost before August 7.

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