LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
200 W. Washington St., Suite 301
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-0696
iga.in.gov
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 6590 NOTE PREPARED: Dec 11, 2020
BILL NUMBER: HB 1487 BILL AMENDED:
SUBJECT: Utility Customer Assistance Programs.
FIRST AUTHOR: Rep. Pryor BILL STATUS: As Introduced
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED: X GENERAL IMPACT: State & Local
X DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: The bill amends the statute that authorizes a water or wastewater utility, in the
context of a general rate case, to establish a customer assistance program for qualified residential customers,
to provide the same authority to energy utilities.
Effective Date: Upon passage.
Explanation of State Expenditures: Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC): The bill extends
current statute to allow energy utilities to request that the IURC allow the utility to establish a customer
assistance program as part of a general rate case. [Current law only allows water or wastewater utilities to
request IURC approval to form customer assistance programs.] To the extent that the bill increases the
number of utilities that can include this request in a general rate case, the IURC could experience additional
workload. This represents an expansion of current procedures being applied to a broader set of utilities, and
would likely be accomplished within existing resources.
Explanation of State Revenues: The bill’s provisions could potentially impact electric and gas utility rates,
depending upon the extent to which energy utilities request to form customer assistance programs and how
a utility chooses to fund such a program, as outlined in the bill. To the extent that utility rates are affected
as a result of this bill, there would be an impact on Sales Tax, Utility Receipts Tax (URT), and Utility
Services Use Tax (USUT) collections.
Additional Information - The rate for both the URT and USUT is 1.4%. The URT is calculated on the gross
receipts of all entities providing the retail sale of utility services in Indiana. The USUT is imposed on the
retail consumption of utility services in Indiana. Both the URT and USUT are deposited in the state General
HB 1487 1
Fund. Sales tax revenue is deposited in the state General Fund (99.838%), Commuter Rail Service Fund
(0.131%), and Industrial Rail Service Fund (0.031%).
Explanation of Local Expenditures: To the extent that municipally-owned energy utilities request that the
IURC allow the utility to form a customer assistance program, the utility could potentially experience
expenditure impacts depending on the implementation of such a program. The statute allows more than one
method to fund and administer a customer assistance program, so any impact on local costs is indeterminable
and will vary by municipal utility.
Additional Information - Currently, an IURC-regulated water or wastewater utility is allowed to establish
a low-income customer assistance program for qualified customers to receive discounted rates. In recently
completed cases, Indiana-American Water Company and CWA Authority, Inc. have established low- income
programs. Annually, CWA Authority, Inc. provides $1.1 M in bill credits and $0.4 M for infrastructure
repairs or water conservation appliances, with $1.3 M coming from ratepayers through a surcharge on the
customer’s bill and $0.2 M funded by CWA Authority, Inc.
Explanation of Local Revenues:
State Agencies Affected: Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
Local Agencies Affected: Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
Information Sources: Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, 2020 Annual Report.
Fiscal Analyst: Olivia Smith, 317-232-9869.
HB 1487 2


Statutes affected:
1. Introduced House Bill (H): 8-1-2-46