Utilities don't foresee summer problems

INDIANAPOLIS -- Utility officials told state regulators Wednesday that they don't expect any problems meeting Indiana consumers' demand this summer for electricity.\nThe Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission was holding two days of hearings this week on state utilities' summer electric generation capacity.\nUtility representatives told the panel they should be able to meet this summer's power needs. None requested cost increases to meet rising fuel costs, said agency spokeswoman Mary Beth Fisher.\nIndiana gets most of its electricity from coal-fired plants, which have not been subject to the same large price fluctuations as other energy sources such as natural gas, Fisher said.\nUtilities' fuel costs are not included in base rates. The commission reviews them on a quarterly basis and adjustments are made separately, she said.\nIndiana Michigan Power, Hoosier Energy, Vectren and PJM Interconnection made presentations to the commission Wednesday. \nIndianapolis Power & Light, Indiana Municipal Power Agency, Duke Energy, Northern Indiana Public Service Co. and the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator are scheduled to make presentations Thursday.\nCarmel-based Midwest ISO and Valley Forge, Pa.-based PJM are electricity grid monitors that oversee power transmission in the region.\nMidwest ISO said in a news release Wednesday that it expects peak demand this summer to be about 1 percent higher than last year.\n"We are confident that our region will have the electricity it needs to meet this summer's peak demand," said Clair Moeller, a Midwest ISO vice president.