AES Indiana calls power outage investigation unwarranted

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The utility that provides electricity for much of Indianapolis says a proposed state investigation of outages following a massive storm in June is “not warranted.”

In a filing with Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission dated Tuesday, AES Indiana says any effort “to paint AES Indiana as providing unreliable service and being unresponsive to this significant storm event lacks merit.”

Two consumer advocacy groups have called on the IURC to investigate AES Indiana for the length of time it took to restore power to customers.

The storm knocked out electric service to more than 81,000 customers in the Indianapolis area.  Power was not fully restored to all customers until July 4.

“We understand that the June 29 storms were especially intense, and that additional storms occurred in the following days,” Indiana Utility Consumer Counselor Bill Fine said at the time of the investigation request. “However, we need to gather the facts regarding the outages, especially the factors causing certain customers to be without electricity for more than five days.”

In a filing last month, AES Indiana called the June 29th storm with winds of 70-80 mph in Indiana “the most severe storm to hit the Indianapolis (area) in many years.”

A spokesperson for the IURC told News 8 there is no official timeline for the commission to decide if it will launch an investigation.