Koch Leading Two-Year Initiative to Chart Indiana’s Energy Future

(STATEHOUSE) – State Sen. Eric Koch (R-Bedford) was recently appointed to serve as co-chair of the newly created 21st Century Energy Policy Development Task Force by Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville).

State Sen. Eric Koch (R-Bedford)

House Enrolled Act 1278 established the 15-member 21st Century Energy Policy Development Task Force to examine and evaluate aspects of Indiana’s policies concerning electric generation portfolios, develop recommendations for the General Assembly and governor, and issue a report setting forth the task force’s recommendations on or before December 1, 2020.

The task force will:

  • Examine Indiana’s existing policies regulating electric generation portfolios;
  • Examine how possible shifts in electric generation portfolios may impact the reliability, system resilience, and affordability of electric utility service; and
  • Evaluate whether state regulators have the appropriate authority and statutory flexibility to consider the statewide impact of possible shifts in electric generation portfolios, while still protecting ratepayer interests.

The task force will then develop recommendations for the General Assembly and the governor concerning the following:

  • Outcomes that must be achieved in order to overcome any identified challenges concerning Indiana’s electric generation portfolios, along with timelines for achieving those outcomes;
  • Whether existing state policy and statutes enable state regulators to properly consider the statewide impact of changing electric generation portfolios and, if not, the best approaches to enable state regulators to consider those impacts; and
  • How to maintain reliable, resilient, and affordable electric service for all electric utility consumers, while encouraging the adoption and deployment of advanced energy technologies.

The task force consists of eight state legislators appointed by legislative leaders and seven subject-matter experts appointed by Gov. Eric Holcomb. Sen. Koch will co-chair the task force with State Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso). Other members include:

  • State Sen. Jim Merritt (R-Indianapolis);
  • State Sen. Mark Stoops (D-Bloomington);
  •  State Sen. David Niezgodski (D-South Bend);
  •  State Rep. Ethan Manning (R-Denver);
  •  State Rep. Ryan Hatfield (D-Evansville);
  • State Rep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington);
  • Bill Fine, Utility Consumer Counselor for Indiana;
  •  John Graham, retiring Dean of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs;
  •  Kay Pashos, a partner at IceMiller legal counsel, practicing in the area of energy and utility law;
  • Philip Powell, Associate Dean of Academic Programs, Clinical Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, and Daniel C. Smith Faculty Fellow at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business;
  • Wallace E. Tyner, James & Lois Ackerman Chair and Professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University;
  • Donna Walker, President, and CEO of Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc.; and
  • Juan Pablo Carvallo, scientific engineering associate in the electricity markets and policy group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Sen. Koch holds a graduate certificate in energy policy planning from the University of Idaho.  He serves as Co-Chair of the Energy Supply Task Force of the National Conference of State Legislatures and as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Council on Electric Policy.  He focuses on energy, water, and telecommunications policy interactions in Indiana and nationally. 

Sen. Koch, a member of the Senate Utilities Committee, serves Senate District 44, which includes all of Lawrence and Brown counties and parts of Bartholomew, Jackson, and Monroe counties.

To learn more about HEA 1278 and the 21st Century Energy Policy Development Task Force, click here.