What Has André Carson Done On Rising Utility Bills?

AES Indiana Has Raised Rates Repeatedly. Carson Has Taken Their Money and Stayed Quiet.

Monday, April 13

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Indianapolis, IN — Indianapolis families are getting crushed by their electric bills.

 

AES Indiana—the monopoly utility serving Indianapolis—has raised residential rates in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2024. The 2024 increase added approximately $9.36 per month to the average household bill. A new rate case filed in 2025 seeks an additional $192.9 million annually from ratepayers. That money comes directly out of the pockets of working families, seniors on fixed incomes, and small businesses already stretched thin.

 

Meanwhile AES Indiana's parent company—AES Corp—is being acquired by a consortium of billionaire investors including a subsidiary of BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, in a $33.4 billion deal. The same BlackRock whose PAC has donated to André Carson's campaign. The same AES Indiana that has donated to André Carson's campaign.

 

When AES went before Indiana utility regulators in 2023 and 2025 to seek rate increases that would hit every household in his district, no public statement from Congressman Carson was found. No appearance at public hearings. No legislation introduced to protect ratepayers. No use of his congressional platform to amplify the concerns of the families being asked to absorb yet another rate hike.

 

What Carson did do was accept their money.

 

This is the pattern. The donors give. The rates go up. The congressman stays quiet. Working families in Indianapolis pay more every two years while their representative in Congress cashes the check and looks the other way.

 

A member of Congress can’t set utility rates. That authority belongs to state regulators. But a member of Congress with a platform, a megaphone, and relationships across the federal government can make noise. Can show up. Can force the conversation. Can use federal energy policy levers to push back on corporate consolidation that puts ratepayers at risk. Can call out by name the billionaire investors acquiring a monopoly utility that serves his constituents.

 

That hasn't happened. It won't happen from a congressman whose campaign is funded by the very companies raising the bills.

 

"When your donors are the ones raising utility bills on Indianapolis families, silence is a choice," Hornedo said. "Every rate hike that goes unchallenged while the congressman cashes their checks is a choice. Indianapolis families deserve a representative whose loyalty is to them, not to the corporations writing the checks."

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This is part of the Hornedo campaign's daily accountability series, What Has André Carson Done?, running through May 1st. Learn more at georgehornedo.com.

Indianapolis deserves more than a vote in Washington. It deserves a congressman who uses the full platform of the office to fight for federal resources, to force the conversation at every level of government, and to show up for this community before the cameras arrive. That's the standard. That's what's been missing.

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RECORD CHECK: The Center for Effective Lawmaking ranks Congressman Carson 197th out of 220 House Democrats in legislative effectiveness. Of his claimed 22 bills signed into law, 2 are standalone enacted bills—the Ariel Rios Federal Building naming and the Kennedy-King National Commemorative Site Act. 

73% of Congressman Carson's campaign funding comes from PACs, much of it from corporate PACs including AES Indiana, BlackRock, and defense contractors. Only 7% comes from small-dollar donors.

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When Julia Carson held this seat, Indianapolis was a competitive Democratic stronghold that helped power statewide wins. Under André Carson, the 7th Congressional District has become the worst in Indiana for voter turnout and Democrats haven't won statewide since 2012.