State panel winnows applicants for utility regulator opening; interviews set for next week

The nominating committee for the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission met privately Wednesday to review 25 applications for a vacant spot on the powerful body.

A dozen will be interviewed for the opening next Thursday, Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources Suzanne Jaworowski announced after the nominating committee came out of executive session.

Commissioner David Veleta, a Republican, delivered his letter of resignation late last month.

“I’m not one that thinks you should camp out in any job for overdue amount of time, and I think he could see that (the IURC) was maybe going to be going in a little different direction,” Gov. Mike Braun told reporters last week.

Utility regulator resigns from post; Braun looks for replacement

The agency is charged with ensuring that utilities provide safe, reliable service at just and reasonable rates. Under Indiana law, it is an “impartial fact-finding body” balancing ratepayer and utility needs.

When regulated utilities want to hike customer bills, they go to the IURC for permission. The commission can also regulate construction projects, asset acquisition, financing, bonding, environmental compliance plans, service territories and more.

The five-member IURC can’t have more than three members of the same party, according to state code. Braun will replace Veleta with another Republican.

Braun is emphasizing affordability as his top priority, posting last week that he’s seeking a commissioner “who understands that every decision has a real impact on Hoosier families and businesses and who will keep ratepayers front and center.”

The commissioner job comes with a salary of about $152,000.

The semi-finalists are:

• Josh Bain, an Indianapolis City-County councilor who was shortlisted for a GOP vacancy last year
• Tanner Bouchie, who leads a business and family law firm and lost in the May primary for a state Senate seat
• Phillip Casey, who leads an energy- and water-focused law firm
• Nathan Cazee, who works at air quality company Daikin Applied and was shortlisted for a GOP vacancy last year
• Sean Fagan, the LaPorte County prosecutor
• Tim Rushenberg, who works for the U.S. Department of Education’s general counsel office
• Pete Heuer, former director of operations, facilities planning and management at Ball State University
• Anthony Sunta, who works for the IURC
• Chris Switzer, a Vigo County commissioner
• Alfonso Vidal, a southern Indiana businessman who was shortlisted for a GOP vacancy last year
• Henry Wilhelmus, who works for the Indiana Office of Energy Development
• Joby Jerrells, who works for the Indiana Office of Attorney General

Four nominating committee members voted to approved the shortlist, with two in opposition. Lindsay Haake was one of the no votes, which she explained: “I voted no because an  individual was chosen by the committee who has uniquely disqualified himself to be able to equally balance the affordability needs of Hoosier ratepayers with the greed of Indiana utilities.”

The committee will make recommendations after interviews, but the governor will make the final pick.

Braun has told reporters that he expects to make a total of two appointments soon, however.

He already filled three spots last year with Republicans Andy Zay and Anthony Swinger, and Democrat Bob Deig. That means the only remaining holdout is Democrat David Ziegner.

Ziegner has served under five governors since 1990, but his current term is set to expire April 1, 2027. Whether he’ll leave sooner isn’t clear. The IURC didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Veleta, Zay and Ziegner voted to approve a $71 million AES Indiana rate hike last month.