While Lawmakers Redraw Maps, Hoosiers Are Left With Rising Energy Bills
Indiana families are facing some of the fastest-rising energy costs in the country. Month after month, bills keep climbing — and for many households, that extra $30, $40, or $50 a month isn’t something you can just absorb. It’s the difference between a full grocery trip and a skipped one. It’s whether the car gets filled or only half a tank. It’s whether you can stay caught up or start falling behind.
At a moment when Hoosiers clearly need help, you would expect the legislature to be laser-focused on lowering costs and strengthening consumer protections.
But that’s not what’s happening.
Instead, too many lawmakers are spending their time trying to push through a mid-cycle redistricting plan that Hoosiers overwhelmingly oppose. They’re prioritizing political boundaries over the economic strain families feel every single day.
That choice says a lot about where their focus is — and who they believe they’re accountable to.
A Roadmap for Relief Already Exists
Advocates across the state recently released the Help Hoosiers Now: Ratepayer Relief Plan. It’s a practical, Hoosier-made roadmap with one goal: help families keep their homes powered and their budgets intact.
The plan lays out immediate steps lawmakers could take to provide relief:
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A discount rate for low-income and fixed-income households
So the people most at risk don’t face the highest burden. -
Stronger safeguards against shutoffs
Because no family should lose heat during extreme weather while utility profits remain strong. -
Stopping utilities from billing customers for lobbying and political expenses
If utilities want to influence legislation, they shouldn’t pass the cost on to Hoosiers. -
Restoring oversight and transparency
Giving regulators the tools to protect customers — not rubber-stamp rate hikes. -
More community energy options
So people aren’t boxed in by a single monopoly without alternatives.
These ideas aren’t partisan. They’re practical. They’re built on what other states already do successfully. And they would make a real difference for Hoosier families right now.
What Hoosiers Are Seeing, and What Lawmakers Are Missing
Across the state, people are worried — and for good reason. Families are already paying more for basic utilities than they did just a year ago, and many are bracing for further increases. Nearly every Hoosier knows someone who has struggled to keep up with their electric or heating bill.
This is the kind of issue that should unite the Statehouse, not divide it.
But when legislators choose to focus their time and attention on a redistricting plan instead of tackling rising costs, it sends a clear signal: the priorities inside the building don’t match the priorities outside it.
Hoosiers want affordability.
Hoosiers want accountability.
Hoosiers want leaders who understand the real pressures families are under.
The Work That Should Come Next
The solutions are on the table. The need is undeniable. And the public support is overwhelming.
Lawmakers should:
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Take up the Ratepayer Relief Plan and move quickly on the most immediate forms of help.
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Restore the consumer protections and energy-efficiency tools Indiana once relied on.
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Make sure utilities are working for the public good — not the other way around.
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Focus on improving daily life for Hoosiers instead of rewriting maps to protect political power.
This isn’t a complicated choice. It’s a question of priorities.
Bottom Line
Hoosiers are resilient. We work hard, we plan carefully, and we expect fairness from the people elected to represent us.
But families shouldn’t have to carry this burden alone — especially not while the legislature diverts its attention to a redistricting fight that does nothing to lower bills or improve daily life.
It’s time for lawmakers to refocus on what matters: helping Hoosiers keep their energy affordable, their homes stable, and their budgets manageable.
Because when families can build a life with security and dignity, our entire state is stronger for it.