Dive Brief:

• Duke Energy has filed a revised grid modernization plan with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) that will involve spending $1.83 billion over seven years to improve reliability and give customers more control over their energy use while supporting thousands of jobs in the state, the Indianapolis Star reports. 
• Duke said customers would see a 1% annual rate increase between 2017 and 2022 to pay for the programs.
• Regulators rejected the utility's original plan in May. Duke spent seven months retooling the proposal, but customer advocates say little has changed and they will continue to oppose it.

Dive Insight:

The Indianapolis Star reports that the controversy surrounding Duke Energy's proposal to modernize its grid operations is over whether the utility should be allowed to push such large initiatives outside of a formal rate proceeding. Regulators sent the utility back to refine its proposal in May but, according to Citizens Action Coalition (CAC), the proposal is largely unchanged and they are still pushing for a full review of Duke's rates.

"Not much has changed," Kerwin Olson, executive director of the CAC, told the Indianapolis Star. The group does not believe Duke should be able to raise rates without going through a formal review. "We will oppose it and ask the commission to reject it."

Duke said its plan will give customers better service, faster outage response times, more control over their energy use and voluntary rate options.

"This plan will improve the reliability of our electric service and give customers more control over their energy usage and bills while creating and supporting thousands of Hoosier jobs," Duke Energy Indiana President Melody Birmingham-Byrd said in a statement. "We've responded to the commission's guidance and issues raised in its May order. The revised plan is more detailed and focuses on projects that improve the reliability of our service while modernizing our aging infrastructure."

Duke wants to install "self-healing" systems to quickly identify and repair outages by rerouting power and isolating problems on its system. The utility estimated its plan would generate or support 5,000 jobs in Indiana, with an estimated state and local community tax benefit of approximately $180 million over the seven-year plan. The utility expects a decision by the middle of next year.

In May, the IURC rejected plans filed by Duke and Indiana Michigan Power, finding neither utility had provided sufficient detail. Combined, the two utilities had proposed more than $2.5 billion in rate increases.