A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning utilities.
HB 1111 makes several changes to Indiana utility law focused on customer protections for residential electric and gas service, and on billing relief for electric service interruptions. First, it prohibits utilities from charging a reconnection fee when service is restored after termination. It also expands seasonal shutoff protections by barring electric and gas utilities from terminating residential service during the summer protection period, June 21 through September 23, for households that include a person age 65 or older or age 16 or younger, and it preserves existing winter protections for customers seeking heating assistance.
The bill also requires utilities to identify new residential customers age 62 or older and mail them information about senior assistance programs twice each year. In addition, it creates a mandatory bill credit for residential customers who experience electric service interruptions during a billing cycle, with the credit amount increasing based on the length and frequency of the outage. The bill applies broadly to public utilities, municipally owned utilities, cooperatives, not-for-profit utilities, consolidated-city utilities, and certain water and wastewater providers for the reconnection-fee provision, and it directs the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to adopt implementing rules.
HB 1111 would amend Indiana Code provisions governing utility service termination, customer assistance, and outage compensation. It would add a new statewide prohibition on reconnection fees, strengthen summer disconnection protections for households with young children or seniors, require targeted outreach to older customers about assistance programs, and impose a new credit obligation on public utilities for electric service interruptions. The bill would affect electric and gas utilities most directly, while the reconnection-fee ban would also reach a broader set of utility types, including water and wastewater providers listed in the bill.
Based on the bill text, the measure appears strongly consumer-protective and aimed at reducing hardship for vulnerable customers, especially seniors, children, and households facing delinquency or service interruptions. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no documented debate or formal vote history to indicate broader legislative support or opposition. The overall framing suggests a policy emphasis on affordability, continuity of essential utility service, and customer relief.
The main points of potential contention are the cost and administrative burden placed on utilities, including the loss of reconnection-fee revenue, the obligation to identify and notify older customers, and the requirement to provide outage-related bill credits that could be substantial during prolonged or repeated interruptions. Utilities may also object to the expanded summer shutoff moratorium and the operational complexity of tracking household age eligibility and administering credits. On the other hand, consumer advocates, seniors' advocates, and low-income assistance supporters would likely favor the bill’s protections and outreach requirements.