The CenterPoint Energy/Vectren North natural gas service territory covers 51 counties in central, south-central and southeastern Indiana. The counties were formerly served by Indiana Gas Company.
To compare average natural gas bills, see the IURC's monthly residential surveys.
Key components in a natural gas bill include:
- Base rates
- Gas costs
- Trackers
- Base Rates
Base rates cover a natural gas utility's operating, maintenance, and infrastructure costs.
The IURC approved a settlement agreement in CenterPoint Energy Indiana North's rate case (IURC Cause No. 45468) on Nov. 17, 2021. The order will reduce overall rates by $5.9 million.
- OUCC news release (11-23-2021)
- Commission order
- Settlement agreement
- OUCC settlement testimony
- CenterPoint Energy settlement testimony
The OUCC recommended denial of Vectren's request in testimony filed on Apr. 1, 2021, as described in the agency's news release.
Our infographic outlines the steps in a base rate case. An IURC public field hearing was held on Mar. 16, 2021 in Carmel, and the OUCC issued a Mar. 3 news release to invite public comments.
All publicly filed documents are available in the IURC's online case file.
New rates for CenterPoint Energy's South service territory were approved in a separate docket.
The IURC approved CenterPoint Energy Indiana North's previous base rates in 2008.
- Quarterly Gas Cost Adjustments
Natural gas utilities buy gas for their customers in a competitive wholesale market. Indiana law allows utilities to adjust rates every three months to recover changes in those costs, which can go up or down. These costs comprise a significant portion of a residential bill and are recovered through the Gas Cost Adjustment (GCA) process.
- Utilities may recover wholesale gas costs on a dollar-for-dollar basis but may not profit on them.
- Before adjusting rates to reflect the costs, a utility must demonstrate that it has shopped prudently in the competitive market.
- Each GCA filing requires OUCC review and IURC approval.
The utility's most recent adjustment (Cause No. 37394 GCA-163) will affect bills for September, October and November 2024.
- Infrastructure Plans
State law allows natural gas and electric utilities to seek IURC approval of 5-to-7-year plans for infrastructure improvements. If a plan is approved, the utility may then seek incremental rate increases as the projects proceed. Most costs are recovered through the Transmission, Distribution, and Storage System Improvement Charge (TDSIC). Vectren North's first gas TDSIC plan received Commission approval in 2014. It received Commission approval of a new five-year plan in Cause No. 45611 in April 2022.
To Learn More:
4-29-2024