Evansville Residents to Rally at People’s Hearing on Weak Vectren Plan To Reduce Energy Waste

Local residents will gather at the Central Library at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, September 15 for a People’s Hearing to urge state officials to protect local families and communities from high electricity costs by directing Vectren to do more to reduce energy waste. -

Shane Levy, Deputy Press Secretary, Sierra Club

Today, Vectren has a proposal before state officials that will determine how far they will go in reducing energy waste for local families. Unfortunately, despite Vectren’s own consultant’s recommendations, in nearly every category Vectren’s energy savings plan falls short. Vectren’s proposed energy savings goals are only about 50 percent of what their consultant recommended, and represent a missed opportunity for our utility company to protect families in our community by reducing energy waste.

Vectren’s high electricity costs are placing a crushing burden on low-incomes families in our community, and forcing hard choices on the most vulnerable amongst us. In Evansville, 42% of working families are struggling to cover their monthly expenses, according to the United Way’s ALICE study.

WHO – Local Evansville community residents

WHAT - People's Hearing on Vectren's Energy Savings Plan

WHERE - Central Library, Browning Events Room A, 200 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Evansville, IN

WHEN - Tuesday, September 15th 5:30pm - 7:30pm

Vectren customers have the highest utility bills in the State of Indiana – paying more than $150 a month for the average home using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity.

The average Indiana home uses 50% more electricity per month than a home in Michigan, and 30% more than a home in Illinois. Although Indiana’s electricity prices are lower than most neighboring states, Hoosier electricity bills are higher because Indiana homes waste so much energy.

Energy efficiency helps reduce energy waste and lower electricity bills, but monopoly utilities led the charge in 2014 to eliminate Energizing Indiana and gut Indiana’s energy savings goals. The statewide energy savings program was saving nearly $3 for every dollar spent and had saved enough electricity in three years to power more than 110,000 homes.