October 7, 2025 • 9 mins
IndyStar columnist Jacob Stewart joins Kendall and Casey to discuss his latest article regarding BlackRock wanting to buy AES Indiana so it can flip the monopoly electricity provider for profit.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So an infamous private equity firm mayby a utility here
in Central Indiana, and our next guest says the city
needs to step in before that happens. It's Kennelly Casey Show.
I'm Rob Casey's here, joined in studio by our old
friend Jacob Stewart, columnist over at Indie Star. New column
out today, Indianapolis should buy AES Indiana before black Rock can.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Jacob Stewart joins us. Now, Jacob, Hello, thanks for having
me on. Okay, so explain to our audits. So AES
is a major utility. We hear complaints about them all
the time.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
They serve basically our electric service to the people of Indianapolis,
Central Indiana. Right, correct, and explain who black Rock is
before we get into what you say are the pitfalls
of this.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
So they are a multi national investment firm, one of
the largest asset managers in the world, and they are
a private equity firm. And so private equity, for those unfamiliar,
is a type of company that purchases businesses with the
intent of flipping them and selling them for profit.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Okay, So Blackrock made it on state radar not too
long ago, when what was it the in purse, right,
was it in perse right? The pension fund for the
States that you're out of here, Yeah, they.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Were banned because of their ESG investments, and that had
its root in a twenty twenty three law that banned
the pension fund from using asset managers that had those
ESG commitments.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
All right, So now they are looking at buying AES
And obviously this comes at a time where people are
very concerned and rightfully so, about skyrocketing utility rates. How
close is Blackrock to being an owner in AES?
Speaker 3 (01:44):
So from my understanding, they've already made an offer on
AES Corp, which is the parent company of AES Indiana,
valued at around eighteen dollars a share, So it's a
multi multi billion dollar purchase and it's closing as this
is happening. Happening, so you know, they could back out,
something else could happen, but it seems pretty much guaranteed
(02:06):
that it's going to happen unless something changes until then.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
And Blackrock is in the money making business, they're not
in the better life for you business. Right, So the
theory you have, and you go through this in this
column over at Indie start that just came out today.
Is somebody better do something fast or just steal a
phrase from the former president Joe Biden. If you think
(02:31):
utility rates are bad now get ready by yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
No exactly. So we're already worrying about rising utility rates
because of data centers and other infrastructure issues. Indiana is
not producing enough energy as it is right now to
serve their existing customers. Any private equity firm that purchases
a utility will most likely be aiming on increasing the
infrastructure even more, doubling down on the trying to bring
(02:59):
data centers here at any cost as many as possible,
to turn a quick profit at the back at the
expense of local residents, and then eventually they'll sell it
for a profit.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Jacob Stewart, columnist an Indie Star, is our guest. New
column out today. Indianapolis should buy as Indiana before black
Rock can.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, Jacob, how can Indianapolis buy aes so?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
In nineteen eighty one, I believe it was shortly after
the state granted five or so utilities and monopoly over
wide swaths of the state. They gave Indianapolis specifically the
right to buy a utility, and that was used one
time before, as far as I'm aware, in two thousand
and two, to purchase the Indianapolis Water Company for five
(03:43):
hundred and forty million, and that was eventually sold to
Citizens Energy. So it's it's state law.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Exactly how that would look would be a little bit questionable.
The city county council would just pass a bill or
a ordinate to give the mayor probably the authority to
work out the terms of the deal with AES and
then we would see what happens from there. I think
ultimately as it stands, it would be you know, whether
(04:13):
or not aescorp actually wants to sell, But the city
could take away their ban on using eminent domain to
take the property of utilities. That was also a nineteen
eighty eighty law they passed, So that would put them
on the same footing as they had when they purchased
the Indianapolis Water Company because they had a right to
(04:34):
first purchase.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Then okay, So a couple questions, the state passes this
law that basically forces Blackrock out of state investing or
state investments bring a part of state investing. Can't they
do something to say, eh, you guys aren't stepping in
or Why is the state, who clearly has a problem
(04:57):
with Blackrock, allowing something like this when they grant the
utility to be a monopoly.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Right, and this is by choice. I've spoken to Citizens'
Action Coalitions executive director Crone Olsen over Twitter. He's spoken
about it. There was a recent merger between two utilities,
and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission essentially said we don't
have any approval jurisdiction over this.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So they had approval over everything, right.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
You would think, but they're they're very limited apparently either
by their own willingness to do things or just state
their authority they're given by the state.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
So they limited on everything, but raising the rights. Yeah,
very unlimited in that go ahead.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Sorry, So the state would have to pass the law
giving them approval jurisdiction over it. They probably have to
specifically spell out no private equity cannot buy utilities, because
otherwise the iu RC probably would not do much about it.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
No problem, Rob.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
You know how good the legislature is about passive bills
for the residents.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
So this is.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Sort of like almost the way you're making a sound
and you make a set of this column of FATA
compley that Blackrock is gonna own a big portion of AES.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, yeah, more than likely. It would be a hard,
hard sell probably to get the Indiana General Assembly to
support a bill like that, especially given you know indie
stars reported previously about how much the energy lobbyists have
you know, given to leadership in the General SEMM.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Do you buy this like braun is now Ebenezer Screwedge,
who has been visited by the ghosts of utility rate
hikes past, and now he's woke up Christmas morning shouting
I'll change, I'll change. I mean he just signed this
doctor Frankenstein SMR bill that's gonna raise everybody's rates over time.
Do you are you buying this? Oh, it's all no
(06:43):
rate hikes all the time now for me.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
No, And it's really it's it's kind of out of
his control. Everything he's said to do it has done
quote unquote so far has been mostly symbolic. To actually
change this and change utility policy, it would have to
be through the general State, which is for years past
laws that benefit the utility monopolies at the expense of consumers.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, it's so holiday got big mad.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
We think it was at us and that hearing the
other day, and it was not very nice.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
All right, Jacob Stewart with us a couple of minutes
left with him. Call him over at the Indie Star.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Now you can read this indianoplistioned by as Indiana before
black Rock can. Now people will hear you say this,
and they'll say, Okay, you worked for the Republicans in
the Senate. The Republicans or Republican minded people are supposed
to be no government intervention at any time. Joe hog
Set can't run a lemonade stand to save his life.
How does hog Set and the Democrat controlled city County
(07:38):
Council make this thing better?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:41):
So there are already seventy two municipal electrical utilities in
the state. So it's not without.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Precedent electrical utilities. Yes, holy smike.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
So there's seventy two of them already. Whatever happens with
this particular example, the city would not have to manage it.
The city would not even have to own it eventually
if they don't want to. Back when the city bought
the Indianapolis Water Company, they contracted out the management. That's
how it works a lot of the times when it
comes to like sewer utilities, and other types of utilities
(08:12):
in the natural monopolies the city doesn't have the expertise
to run, or they could just sell it to Citizens
Energy like they did the Indianapolis Water Company, and if
they were willing to purchase it, and that would be
much better than Black Rock or even a for profit
company because Citizens Energy is a public charitable trust, so
it's run like a nonprofit. You know, Josh Bain, who's
(08:34):
a Republican city county councilor he'd support it if the
end result was a cooperative management and that means the
utility customers would be the owners essentially. And there's plenty
of examples of those two, like rural electric membership cooperatives.
So these things could be spelled out in whatever deal
(08:55):
the city council makes. How would it be funded through
revenue bonds? That how a lot of the times like
school improvements are yes, I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
That's tax increases, revenue bonds or.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Tax increases, So they would be sold to locals and
it would be separate from the general fund. It would
be separate from the one point seven billion dollar budget
Indianapolis passed, and it would be paid for, presumably hopefully
out of the whatever revenue the local utility makes, so,
in other words, taxpayers would pay for it. It's either
(09:30):
that or they pay it in their next electricity bill.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
The column Indianapols should my ees Indiana before black Rock can?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Jacob Stewart, Indie Star. Thank you, Thank you,
So an infamous private equity firm mayby a utility here
in Central Indiana, and our next guest says the city
needs to step in before that happens. It's Kennelly Casey Show.
I'm Rob Casey's here, joined in studio by our old
friend Jacob Stewart, columnist over at Indie Star. New column
out today, Indianapolis should buy AES Indiana before black Rock can.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Jacob Stewart joins us. Now, Jacob, Hello, thanks for having
me on. Okay, so explain to our audits. So AES
is a major utility. We hear complaints about them all
the time.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
They serve basically our electric service to the people of Indianapolis,
Central Indiana. Right, correct, and explain who black Rock is
before we get into what you say are the pitfalls
of this.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
So they are a multi national investment firm, one of
the largest asset managers in the world, and they are
a private equity firm. And so private equity, for those unfamiliar,
is a type of company that purchases businesses with the
intent of flipping them and selling them for profit.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Okay, So Blackrock made it on state radar not too
long ago, when what was it the in purse, right,
was it in perse right? The pension fund for the
States that you're out of here, Yeah, they.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Were banned because of their ESG investments, and that had
its root in a twenty twenty three law that banned
the pension fund from using asset managers that had those
ESG commitments.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
All right, So now they are looking at buying AES
And obviously this comes at a time where people are
very concerned and rightfully so, about skyrocketing utility rates. How
close is Blackrock to being an owner in AES?
Speaker 3 (01:44):
So from my understanding, they've already made an offer on
AES Corp, which is the parent company of AES Indiana,
valued at around eighteen dollars a share, So it's a
multi multi billion dollar purchase and it's closing as this
is happening. Happening, so you know, they could back out,
something else could happen, but it seems pretty much guaranteed
(02:06):
that it's going to happen unless something changes until then.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
And Blackrock is in the money making business, they're not
in the better life for you business. Right, So the
theory you have, and you go through this in this
column over at Indie start that just came out today.
Is somebody better do something fast or just steal a
phrase from the former president Joe Biden. If you think
(02:31):
utility rates are bad now get ready by yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
No exactly. So we're already worrying about rising utility rates
because of data centers and other infrastructure issues. Indiana is
not producing enough energy as it is right now to
serve their existing customers. Any private equity firm that purchases
a utility will most likely be aiming on increasing the
infrastructure even more, doubling down on the trying to bring
(02:59):
data centers here at any cost as many as possible,
to turn a quick profit at the back at the
expense of local residents, and then eventually they'll sell it
for a profit.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Jacob Stewart, columnist an Indie Star, is our guest. New
column out today. Indianapolis should buy as Indiana before black
Rock can.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, Jacob, how can Indianapolis buy aes so?
Speaker 3 (03:20):
In nineteen eighty one, I believe it was shortly after
the state granted five or so utilities and monopoly over
wide swaths of the state. They gave Indianapolis specifically the
right to buy a utility, and that was used one
time before, as far as I'm aware, in two thousand
and two, to purchase the Indianapolis Water Company for five
(03:43):
hundred and forty million, and that was eventually sold to
Citizens Energy. So it's it's state law.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Exactly how that would look would be a little bit questionable.
The city county council would just pass a bill or
a ordinate to give the mayor probably the authority to
work out the terms of the deal with AES and
then we would see what happens from there. I think
ultimately as it stands, it would be you know, whether
(04:13):
or not aescorp actually wants to sell, But the city
could take away their ban on using eminent domain to
take the property of utilities. That was also a nineteen
eighty eighty law they passed, So that would put them
on the same footing as they had when they purchased
the Indianapolis Water Company because they had a right to
(04:34):
first purchase.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Then okay, So a couple questions, the state passes this
law that basically forces Blackrock out of state investing or
state investments bring a part of state investing. Can't they
do something to say, eh, you guys aren't stepping in
or Why is the state, who clearly has a problem
(04:57):
with Blackrock, allowing something like this when they grant the
utility to be a monopoly.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Right, and this is by choice. I've spoken to Citizens'
Action Coalitions executive director Crone Olsen over Twitter. He's spoken
about it. There was a recent merger between two utilities,
and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission essentially said we don't
have any approval jurisdiction over this.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So they had approval over everything, right.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
You would think, but they're they're very limited apparently either
by their own willingness to do things or just state
their authority they're given by the state.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
So they limited on everything, but raising the rights. Yeah,
very unlimited in that go ahead.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Sorry, So the state would have to pass the law
giving them approval jurisdiction over it. They probably have to
specifically spell out no private equity cannot buy utilities, because
otherwise the iu RC probably would not do much about it.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
No problem, Rob.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
You know how good the legislature is about passive bills
for the residents.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
So this is.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Sort of like almost the way you're making a sound
and you make a set of this column of FATA
compley that Blackrock is gonna own a big portion of AES.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, yeah, more than likely. It would be a hard,
hard sell probably to get the Indiana General Assembly to
support a bill like that, especially given you know indie
stars reported previously about how much the energy lobbyists have
you know, given to leadership in the General SEMM.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Do you buy this like braun is now Ebenezer Screwedge,
who has been visited by the ghosts of utility rate
hikes past, and now he's woke up Christmas morning shouting
I'll change, I'll change. I mean he just signed this
doctor Frankenstein SMR bill that's gonna raise everybody's rates over time.
Do you are you buying this? Oh, it's all no
(06:43):
rate hikes all the time now for me.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
No, And it's really it's it's kind of out of
his control. Everything he's said to do it has done
quote unquote so far has been mostly symbolic. To actually
change this and change utility policy, it would have to
be through the general State, which is for years past
laws that benefit the utility monopolies at the expense of consumers.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Yeah, it's so holiday got big mad.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
We think it was at us and that hearing the
other day, and it was not very nice.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
All right, Jacob Stewart with us a couple of minutes
left with him. Call him over at the Indie Star.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Now you can read this indianoplistioned by as Indiana before
black Rock can. Now people will hear you say this,
and they'll say, Okay, you worked for the Republicans in
the Senate. The Republicans or Republican minded people are supposed
to be no government intervention at any time. Joe hog
Set can't run a lemonade stand to save his life.
How does hog Set and the Democrat controlled city County
(07:38):
Council make this thing better?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:41):
So there are already seventy two municipal electrical utilities in
the state. So it's not without.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Precedent electrical utilities. Yes, holy smike.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
So there's seventy two of them already. Whatever happens with
this particular example, the city would not have to manage it.
The city would not even have to own it eventually
if they don't want to. Back when the city bought
the Indianapolis Water Company, they contracted out the management. That's
how it works a lot of the times when it
comes to like sewer utilities, and other types of utilities
(08:12):
in the natural monopolies the city doesn't have the expertise
to run, or they could just sell it to Citizens
Energy like they did the Indianapolis Water Company, and if
they were willing to purchase it, and that would be
much better than Black Rock or even a for profit
company because Citizens Energy is a public charitable trust, so
it's run like a nonprofit. You know, Josh Bain, who's
(08:34):
a Republican city county councilor he'd support it if the
end result was a cooperative management and that means the
utility customers would be the owners essentially. And there's plenty
of examples of those two, like rural electric membership cooperatives.
So these things could be spelled out in whatever deal
(08:55):
the city council makes. How would it be funded through
revenue bonds? That how a lot of the times like
school improvements are yes, I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
That's tax increases, revenue bonds or.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Tax increases, So they would be sold to locals and
it would be separate from the general fund. It would
be separate from the one point seven billion dollar budget
Indianapolis passed, and it would be paid for, presumably hopefully
out of the whatever revenue the local utility makes, so,
in other words, taxpayers would pay for it. It's either
(09:30):
that or they pay it in their next electricity bill.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
The column Indianapols should my ees Indiana before black Rock can?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Jacob Stewart, Indie Star. Thank you, Thank you,
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