Indiana regulator would audit certain utilities during basic rate cases

The state board of accounts would audit Indiana’s utility regulator and send a report to lawmakers. The audit would cover the regulator’s finances and compliance for the state fiscal year ending in the audit year. This section would take effect July 1, 2026. Audits would begin in 2026 and repeat every three years. Reports would be due by November 1 of the year covered.

The utility regulator would conduct detailed audits in covered basic rate cases and could conduct them during other permitted reviews. Covered utilities sell retail electric, gas, water, or wastewater service in Indiana and fall under the regulator’s authority to approve rates. Their affiliates also count. An audit during another review would need good cause and must be part of a permitted examination, inquiry, or investigation. If a utility asks, the regulator must decide whether audit testimony or records qualify for confidential treatment. This section would take effect retroactively on January 1, 2026. Required audits would cover basic rate cases filed or pending after December 31, 2025.

After an audit, the regulator could order a utility to fix certain practices or refer suspected crimes to law enforcement. An order could address only practices examined in the audit and found unfair, unsafe, inadequate, or unlawful. An order must come through the applicable utility proceeding. The regulator’s audit expenses would be charged under existing rules. The state or other parties would pay witness expenses as existing rules direct. These steps could follow completion of an audit.