Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) is the public utilities commission of the state of Indiana, led by five commissioners appointed by the governor.

The commission regulates electric, natural gas, telecommunications, steam, water and sewer utilities.

## History

[edit]

The commission was established by the Indiana General Assembly as the Railroad Commission in the late 1800s to regulate the railroads in the state.[1] On March 4, 1913, Governor Samuel M. Ralston signed the Shively-Spencer Utility Act giving it the additional authority to regulate electric, natural gas, water, private sewer, and telephone utilities along with common carriers (trucking) and renaming it as the Public Service Commission. The act replaced legislation from 1891 in which the state had given cities and towns the ability to contract with utilities for service and to set rates by local ordinance. Utilities with existing municipal franchises could surrender them and place themselves under the commission's regulation by accepting an "indeterminate permit".[2]

In 1987, the commission was given its current name of Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.[1]

## Divisions

[edit]

### Electric

[edit]

The Electric Division of the IURC regulates five major investor owned electric utilities: Duke Energy Indiana, Indiana-Michigan Power, Indianapolis Power and Light Company, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), and Vectren Energy Delivery of Indiana.

In addition, nine of the 72 municipally-owned utilities operating in Indiana remain under the Commission's jurisdiction for rate regulation: Richmond Municipal, Anderson Municipal, Crawfordsville Municipal, Auburn Municipal, Frankfort Municipal, Lebanon Municipal, Tipton Municipal, Knightstown Municipal, Kingsford Heights Municipal, and Greenfield Mills, Inc. Power & Light.

### Natural Gas

[edit]

The Natural Gas division regulates the rates, charges, and terms of service for intrastate gas pipelines and LDCs. It inspects federal all intrastate natural gas facilities in accord with federal safety regulations. Additionally, the Natural Gas division reviews gas cost adjustments (GCAs), financial arrangements, service territory requests, and assists in investigatory proceedings when these docketed proceedings are filed with the Commission. It also analyzes various forms of alternative regulatory proposals, such as rate decoupling, rate adjustment mechanisms, and customer choice initiatives.

### Telecommunications

[edit]

The Communications Division monitors regulatory proceedings and policy initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels to determine the impact of those policies. The division implements universal service programs and provides recommendations on applications for certificates of territorial authority for communications service providers and state franchises for video service providers. The Communications Division also resolves carrier-to-carrier disputes, manages policies regarding telephone numbering resources (pursuant to federal and state law), protects consumers from unauthorized changes to their service, and implements universal service programs.

### Water and wastewater

[edit]

The Water and Sewer Division regulates 89 of the 555 water utilities and 45 of the 547 wastewater utilities in Indiana. Although the IURC regulates only a fraction of the water utilities, these entities serve approximately 45% of Indiana's water consumers. Approximately 85% of Indiana customers, however, are served by non-jurisdictional wastewater utilities.

### Consumer Affairs

[edit]

The Consumer Affairs Division resolves customer complaints by ensuring utility compliance with Commission rules and regulations by investigating consumer allegations and issuing timely determinations. The types of issues handled by the Consumer Affairs Division include: deposits, billing, termination of service, customer rights, and utility responsibilities.[1]

### Legal

[edit]

The IURC Legal Division aids in the development of the commissions “Rules and Regulations Concerning Practice and Procedure” as well as “Rules and Regulations and Standards of Service” to govern each type of utility through Title 170 of the Indiana Administrative Code. These changes follow a rulemaking process which, if applied to Indiana Code, require approval from the Governor and Attorney General.[1]

## Commissioners

[edit]

The five commissioners are appointed by the governor for four-year terms. No more than three of the commissioners can be from the same political party as the governor.[1]

Commissioner | Appointment | Departure

|
|

Thomas Duncan | 1913 | 1917
John F. McClure | 1913 | 1917
Charles J. Murphy | 1913 | 1916
Charles A. Edwards | 1913 | 1919
James L. Clark | 1913 | 1919
Edwin M. Lee | 1916 | 1917
E.I. Lewis | 1917 | 1921
John W. McCardle | 1917 | 1932
William J. Wood | 1917 | 1918
Edwin Corr | 1917 | 1919
Paul P. Haynes | 1918 | 1921
Glen Van Auken | 1919 | 1923
Fred Bates Johnson | 1919 | 1921
Edgar M. Blessing | 1921 | 1923
George M. Darnard | 1921 | 1922
Maurice Douglas | 1921 | 1925
Oscar Ratts | 1922 | 1924
Samuel R. Artman | 1923 | 1926
Frank Wampler | 1923 | 1927
Frank T. Singleton | 1924 | 1932
Clyde H. Jones | 1925 | 1927
Howell Ellis | 1926 | 1933
C.F. McIntosh | 1927 | 1931
Harvey Harmon | 1927 | 1929
Jere West | 1929 | 1933
Harry K. Cuthbertson | 1931 | 1932
Ralph M. Young | 1932 | 1933
Perry McCart | 1933 | 1940
Samuel L. Trabue | 1933 | 1937
Moie Cook | 1933 | 1940
Fred F. Bays | 1937 | 1939
William A. Stuckey | 1939 | 1944
Frederick F. Eichhorn | 1941 | 1943
George M. Barnard | 1941 | 1944
George N. Beamer | 1943 | 1944
Hugh W. Abbett | 1944 | 1945
unknown | 1949 | 1953
Lawrence W. Cannon | 1944 | 1951
unknown |  |
Roscoe P. Freeman | 1944 | 1945
unknown | 1949 | 1951
Leroy E. Yoder | 1945 | 1949
Lawrence E. Carlson | 1945 | 1949
Crawford F. Parker | 1951 | 1952
Wendell Tennis | 1951 | 1957
Wallace Weatherholt | 1952 | 1953
Warren Buchanan | 1953 | 1957
M. Elliot Belshaw | 1953 | 1957
Garland G. Skelton | 1957 | 1958
Ira L. Haymaker | 1957 | 1962
John W. Van Ness | 1957 | 1959
Leslie Duvall | 1958 | 1961
unknown | 1985 | 1989
Robert S. Webb | 1959 | 1961
unknown | 1971 | 1971
C. Patrick Clancy | 1961 | 1970
Merton Stanley | 1961 | 1967
Phillip L. Bayt | 1963 | 1969
Richard P. Stein | 1967 | 1970
John L. Ryan | 1969 | 1970
George B. Jeffrey | 1970 | 1971
David J. Allen | 1970 | 1975
William B. Powers | 1971 | 1982
W.W. Hill, Jr. | 1971 | 1974
Larry J. Wallace | 1974 | 1984
James M. Plaskett | 1975 | 1981
Peggy Boehm | 1981 | 1985
William W. Montgomery | 1982 | 1986
Michael G. Banta | 1984 | 1985
Willis N. Zagrovich | 1984 | 1989
Frederick L. Corban | 1984 | 1995
Karl O'Lessker | 1986 | 1990
Vicky A. Bailey | 1986 | 1993
James R. Monk | 1989 | 1993
G. Richard Klein | 1990 | 2000
Mary Jo Huffman | 1993 | 1998
John F. Mortell | 1994 | 1997
Camie J. Swanson-Hull | 1996 | 2004
William D. McCarty | 1997 | 2005
David W. Hadley | 2000 | 2006
Judith G. Ripley | 1998 | 2005
Gregory D. Server | 2005 | 2009
David Lott Hardy | 2005 | 2010
Jeffrey L. Golc | 2007 | 2010
Larry S. Landis | 2003 | 2014
James Atterholt | 2009 | 2014
David E. Ziegner | 1990 | Current
Carolene R. Mays | 2010 | 2015
Carol A. Stephan | 2014 | 2016
Angela Weber | 2014 | 2018
Jim Huston | 2014 | Current
Sarah Freeman | 2016 | Current
Stefanie Krevda  | 2018  | Current
David Ober | 2018  | Current

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e "About the IURC". Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. December 17, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
2. ^ Rumer, Thomas A. (1983). Citizens Gas & Coke Utility : A History, 1851-1980. Indianapolis: Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library. pp. 81–82. Retrieved March 25, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

This Indiana-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template