The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission voted 3-1 Wednesday to reconsider the AES Indiana rate hike approved in June.

There are two new members appointed by Gov. Mike Braun on the panel since that vote was taken: Joshua Bain took over for fired Andy Zay and Joby Jerrells replaced David Veleta, who resigned. Both former members supported the $71 million increase.

The order granted the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor’s request to reconsider the weighing of five factors: reliability, affordability, resilience, stability and environmental sustainability. It also granted a request by the Citizens Action Coalition to reopen the record concerning the Google Monrovia data center project and the pending BlackRock Acquisition of AES Indiana.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 17.

The panel rejected a move by AES Indiana to delay action.

“We are pleased that the Commission recognized that these developments warrant a very close look,” Citizens Action Coalition Program Director Ben Inskeep said. “The Commission should not lock Indiana ratepayers into long-term rates based on an outdated picture of AES Indiana’s customers, investment needs, and financial circumstances.”

AES Indiana said in a statement Wednesday that it was “committed to being open, transparent, and responsive throughout these proceedings.”

“We continue to believe the merits of our originally approved case are strong and support the investments necessary to provide safe, reliable, and increasingly resilient electric service,” the utility company said. “Most importantly, our focus remains on serving the more than 530,000 customers who depend on us every day across Central Indiana.”

Bain included a concurring opinion acknowledging that in his previous service as an Indianapolis City-County Council member he supported a measure urging AES Indiana to withdraw its rate increase request. His new role requires him to be independent and impartial on the matter.

“My vote in favor of Proposal 287, along with any public comments were at a different time, pursuant to a very different role, and under a different oath. That prior action did not dictate nor predetermine my decision to concur in the Order for Reconsideration; rather, my decision is based on the evidentiary record before the Commission and the applicable laws,” he wrote.

Bain said he consulted with the utility commission’s ethics officer and general counsel before voting on the matter and “determined that I can participate in this matter fairly and impartially.”

Commissioner David Ziegner voted against the reconsideration for multiple reasons. First, he said the commission already considered the five pillars as required by state law.

“The Indiana General Assembly did not provide the Commission with guidance as to the weight each pillar should be given. Due to the General Assembly’s silence on how and to what extent each pillar should be considered, the Commission has discretion as to the extent of discussion in the order and the weight each pillar is given,” his opinion said. “The Commission considered and discussed the Five Pillars … and discussed the meaningful steps taken to rebalance the Five Pillars with an enhanced weighing of affordability, which included granting the lowest authorized return on equity for an Indiana investor-owned electric utility in decades.”

Ziegner noted the Google Monrovia data center will not be operational or have an impact on the base rates set in the recent case. There is also a separate pending case before the IURC involving that project and the investments needed.

“The BlackRock-led consortium acquisition of AES Indiana is beyond our jurisdiction and has no impact on instant cost of service evaluation the Commission was tasked with here,” he said.

Anthony Swinger, chairman of the IURC, did not participate in the vote because he previously worked on the case for the OUCC.

Zay’s firing resulted in a lawsuit and $625,000 settlement with the governor’s office.

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