Indiana regulators OK Vectren's grid upgrade, rate increases

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Indiana utility regulators have approved Vectren Corp.'s seven-year plan to upgrade its electrical grid and pass those costs onto its customers through rate increases.

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved the Evansville-based utility's plan Wednesday. The grid upgrade will include replacing underground cables and modernizing equipment across Vectren's service area.

Vectren's original upgrade plan would have cost $516 million. But that proposal was reduced to $446 million in a settlement with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and a group of industrial customers.

The Evansville Courier & Press reports that by the end of the seven-year upgrade plan, a typical Vectren residential customer will see electric bill increases of about $16 to $17 per month.

The company delivers electricity to about 145,000 customers in seven southwestern Indiana counties.

___

Information from: Evansville Courier & Press, http://www.courierpress.com