Indiana’s utility regulatory framework is entering a period of rapid transition with departures at both the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) and the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC).

Commissioners Sarah Freeman and Wesley Bennett will leave the IURC in October. Chairman Jim Huston, who has led the agency since 2018, will step down in January after serving in a holdover capacity since his term expired earlier this year. These departures create three vacancies on the five-member Commission.

Governor Mike Braun has launched the statutory appointment process. Applications for the three seats are due October 14. A seven-member nominating committee will review submissions and forward recommendations to the Governor.

Nominating Committee Members

  • Suzie Jaworowski – Appointed by Governor Braun; Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources
  • Dollyne Sherman – Appointed by Governor Braun; former state representative
  • Cory Cochran – Appointed by Governor Braun; construction firm executive
  • Jim Merritt – Appointed by Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray; former state senator and candidate for Indianapolis Mayor
  • Lindsay Shipps Haake – Appointed by Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder; lobbyist for Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana
  • Bill Champion – Appointed by House Speaker Todd Huston; executive at Fratco
  • Grant Smith – Appointed by House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta; energy policy advisor at the Civil Society Institute

The committee will meet October 20 to review applicants and is scheduled to conduct candidate interviews on October 27. After interviews, the committee will provide a list of qualified candidates to Governor Braun, who will make the final appointments.

At the OUCC, William Fine retired on August 31 after nearly a decade as Indiana’s Utility Consumer Counselor. Governor Braun appointed Abby Gray to lead the office beginning in September. The OUCC is charged with representing ratepayer interests in proceedings before the IURC.

With three IURC seats and the OUCC leadership turning over in the span of several months, Indiana’s utility regulatory structure will undergo significant change. Business stakeholders with interests before the Commission and the OUCC should note the timeline of appointments and prepare for the policy and regulatory implications that follow.

David Ober is the Indiana Chamber’s senior vice president of business operations and finance. Ober, a native of Noble County, started with the Chamber in summer 2022 and is a former state legislator and commissioner for the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.