Indiana appeals court rules that regulators ‘impermissibly’ let Duke raise rates for coal cleanup

Hoosier utility regulators “impermissibly applied” Indiana law retroactively when they let Duke Energy raise customer rates to recover coal ash compliance costs, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled this week.

Judge Paul Mathias – writing for the three-member panel – reversed the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission’s decision and instructed it to reconsider or dismiss Duke’s rate increase application.

Judges Cale Bradford and Dana Kenworthy concurred.

The lawsuit has roots in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules, promulgated in 2015, for treating and disposing of toxic coal ash. Duke, which operates several coal-powered electricity generation plants in Indiana, began spending to comply.

Four years later, the company asked regulators to increase rates on Hoosier customers to rec