A new face will take a seat on the agency that regulates Indiana’s utilities at a time when affordability and a growing interest in nuclear energy becomes a focus for state leaders. Joby Jerrells, a division chief at the state attorney general’s office, is Gov. Mike Braun’s choice to fill a vacancy.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission oversees the state’s utilities, holds hearings and makes decisions regarding utility rates. The five-member board is bound by state code to balance affordability with other considerations like reliability, as well as to balance out ratepayers’ interests with those of utility companies.
The governor’s decision comes after he denounced the commission’s June decision to approve a rate increase for Central Indiana electric utility AES Indiana. Following that, he appointed a new chair and one commissioner resigned. Jerrells, a Republican, will replace Commissioner David Veleta. The body can have up to three commissioners of the same political party, according to state law.
Jerrells is the chief counsel of the Advisory Division and Ethics Counsel at the Indiana Office of Attorney General, where he leads a team of nine attorneys and two support staff, he told the IURC nominating committee on July 16.
“The commission, I believe, is at a crossroads,” he told the committee. “I think that seeing all of the outcry from Hoosiers about affordability and rates really is a problem that needs to be solved.”
He told the committee that he grew up in a low-income household in Monroe County, where he had to use an outhouse and wasn’t always connected to municipal water sources.
The nominating committee chose three applicants out of 25 to send to Braun for consideration. Wednesday, Braun named Jerrells as his pick Wednesday.
“Joby Jerrells brings decades of legal experience and a record of public service to the IURC, and he understands the commission’s responsibility to ensure Hoosiers have access to reliable energy at reasonable rates,” said Braun in a statement.
When Braun announced he was seeking applicants for the position, he said he wanted a new commissioner who would “keep ratepayers front and center.”
Lindsay Shipps Haake, a Senate Democratic appointee to the nominating committee, told WFYI they wanted to ensure the commission has a licensed attorney in case of a future vacancy, among other considerations.
“We wanted to make sure that we placed an individual on the commission who did not have to recuse themselves from the AES rehearing or any case of importance to the ratepayer,” said Haake, who is also an organizer with the Citizens Action Coalition. “There were a few candidates who would have had to recuse themselves on that case, and we were deeply concerned that that would have an impact on the ability for the commission to make a decision.”
The current chairman, Anthony Swinger, recused himself from that case due to prior work with the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, which advocates for ratepayers.
Affordability and nuclear energy
Jerrells told the committee that affordability is a big question.
“What does it mean? It’s not statutorily defined,” he said, suggesting the IURC could “propose a rule that addresses what affordability means. You can hold hearings, you can take public comments. You can get the input of consumers directly. You can get the input also of the utilities.”
He said he has seen the IURC’s recent report on its energy affordability and bill transparency investigation into Indiana’s five investor-owned electric utilities and agreed with the suggestion that the commission could have regional hearings around the state and get input from residential and other utility customers to understand how they are really being impacted by their bills.
Another interest of Braun’s is nuclear energy. He is promoting a nuclear readiness program for local communities. The legislature and Braun have been enacting policies to accelerate emerging nuclear technology, such as small modular reactors, or SMRs.
.Jerrells described SMRs as an “exciting” opportunity for the state. The technology can produce up to a third of the power of a traditional nuclear power reactor. He said it would fit into Indiana’s existing energy landscape, including coal, wind, solar and others.
“It changes the landscape and it gets us more at a better mix of sources of energy. It reinvigorates the commission,” Jerrells said.
He said data centers are here to stay and present a dual problem of energy and water consumption.
“I’m encouraged by the SMR use in data centers. I think that offers a lot of promise,” he said.
Jerrells previously served as an attorney for the U.S. Army from 2014 until he joined the state attorney general’s office in 2025. He holds a law degree from Indiana University McKinney School of Law and a master’s in public affairs from IU. His application said he does not have any financial interests or other relationships that would conflict with his role as commissioner.
Contact WFYI data journalist Zak Cassel at zcassel@wfyi.org
