CARMEL, Ind. — The Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that the City of Carmel should be responsible for paying the costs associated with the relocation of power lines.
In an opinion released Thursday, the court contended that the city unfairly tried to pass the cost of line relocation on to Duke Energy.
The dispute began when a construction project in Carmel required power lines to be relocated. The city and Duke Energy could not agree which party should bear the cost to relocate the lines.
According to court documents, Duke Energy estimated the cost to relocate the lines would exceed $500,000. The company also indicated that relocating power lines in Carmel is expensive because the city has ordinances in place that require lines by buried underground.
Carmel’s ordinances prohibit the construction of above-ground lines in the city unless officials explicitly permit such structures to be erected.
The city made the first legal move in the case, filing a complaint with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. In their complaint, the city requested Duke ensure relocated lines are buried. Officials also contended that Duke Energy should bear the cost of such relocation.
After a hearing, the IURC determined Carmel’s ordinances were unfair. The commission then voided the city’s statutes.
In its ruling, the Indiana Supreme Court contended that the IURC was right to void the city’s ordinances because they unfairly pass costs along to Duke Energy’s customers.
When presenting its evidence before the commission, Duke Energy testified that it “would seek recovery of those costs” if it were forced to pay for line relocations. Such projects could force the company to increase utility rates for its Indiana customers.
According to court records, one of the IURC’s primary responsibilities is to ensure public utility charges are “reasonable and just, and every unjust or unreasonable charge for such service is prohibited and declared unlawful.”
During its presentation to the IURC, Duke Energy reported that underground projects cost 10 times more than above-ground projects. The company also argued that other counties and cities would enact ordinances like Carmel’s to make Duke Energy pay to relocate power lines. The company was worried about what kind of precedent the IURC would set if it allowed Carmel’s statutes to stand.
Duke Energy also told the IURC that customers in the other 68 Indiana counties it services would not benefit from the aesthetic relocation of power lines in Hamilton County. Duke Energy argued that the customers in its other counties should not be forced to pay for aesthetic relocation of Carmel’s power lines.
Four of the the Indiana Supreme Court’s five justices concurred with the IURC’s decision to void Carmel’s ordinances. One judge, Derek R. Molter, partly concurred and partly dissented.
Duke Energy and the City of Carmel’s case reached the Supreme Court last September after a court of appeals contended that the IURC’s decision to void Carmel’s ordinances was improper. After the court of appeals made its decision, the IURC’s ruling was reversed until the Supreme Court stepped in.
