Indianapolis, IN
Top 5 storylines to follow for Buffalo Bills at Indianapolis Colts | Week 10
π³3. Filling a void on the defensive line
The Bills are without another key piece on defense for the foreseeable future. Head coach Sean McDermott announced on Monday that defensive end Dawuane Smoot will miss multiple games with a wrist injury.
“He’s going to get surgery sometime this week and he’ll be placed on IR,” McDermott shared.
In seven games, Smoot recorded 12 tackles, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, one and a half sacks and one forced fumble.
“He loves the physical side of the game, and he brings a demeanor that you like on your defense,” defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said of Smoot. “(He’s) kind of a tone setter, if you will. And, it’s been crucial.”
Without Smoot in the lineup for at least four games, Buffalo will look to see who takes advantage of the opportunity.
“We have a little bit of time here before we play on Sunday to kind of carve out what that might be,” Babich said. “And it could be week in and week out, it could be a different plan each week on how we want to attack that. We’ll see how it goes.”
Edge rushers Casey Toohill and Javon Solomon could be two options for Buffalo when it comes to helping fill the void going forward.
Smoot is now the second defensive lineman that’s been placed on Injured Reserve recently as defensive tackle DeWayne Carter was placed on IR on October 26. Sunday marks Carter’s second game on IR.
INDIANAPOLIS β One person is in critical condition following a shooting on Indyβs near east side.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, around 8:10 p.m., officers were called to the 2000 block of East Washington Street on reports of a person shot.
Upon arrival, police located a 50-year-old man with injuries consistent with a gunshot wound.
He is currently reported to be in extremely critical condition.
No additional information has been made available at the time of this articleβs publication.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on June 17Β gave AES the nod to raiseΒ electricity ratesΒ enough to earn anΒ additionalΒ $71 million each year, a decision that drew reproofΒ from Indiana lawmakers whoΒ called it another blow toΒ cost-burdenedΒ consumers.Β
The approved rateΒ representsΒ less thanΒ half ofΒ the $192 millionΒ increaseΒ thatΒ AESΒ initially requested. Β ItβsΒ also less thanΒ the $91Β million increase proposed in an October settlement agreement between AES, the city of Indianapolis andΒ major electricity consumers like Kroger and Walmart.Β
ButΒ the new rate isΒ stillΒ significantly more than what theΒ IndianaΒ Office ofΒ Utility Consumer Counselor, the state agencyΒ representingΒ ratepayers in the case, recommended inΒ September. The OUCCβs proposal would have capped AESβs annual operating revenueΒ at $21 million less than the current level.Β
The rate increase authorizes AES to earn a total of nearly $2 billion each year, or an estimated $384 million in profit.
TheΒ higher base rateΒ comes asΒ a double whammy for Indianapolis-area households, who are already paying more for electricity this summer after AES temporarily raised rates to account for higher-than-anticipated fuel costs duringΒ last winterβsΒ storms.Β The increase also arrives against the backdrop of inflation,Β which rose to a three-year high last month, andΒ surging gas prices due to the war in Iran.Β
Gov. Mike BraunΒ wrote in a Wednesday post to X that he was βdeeply disappointedβ by the IURCβs approval of the rate increase.Β
βHoosiers have spent years tightening their belts and making tough financial decisions,β Braun wrote. βItβsΒ time for utility companies to do the same.βΒ
The IURCβs decision also drew fireΒ from the other side of the aisle. In a June 17 news release, five DemocratsΒ representingΒ IndianapolisΒ in the state SenateΒ β J.D. Ford, Andrea Hunley, La Keisha Jackson, Fady Qaddoura, and Greg TaylorΒ β chastised Indianaβs Republican supermajority for failing to reinΒ in rising utility costs.Β
βHoosiers pay more. Monopoly utilities collect more. And the leadersΒ in the super-majorityΒ who promise affordabilityΒ over and over againΒ show those are just empty words,β the news release said. βInstead, theyΒ continueΒ to defendΒ a system thatΒ takesΒ more and moreΒ out of our paychecks.βΒ
The consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition also slammed the rate increase. Ben Inskeep, CACβsΒ program director,Β said the decision left him βless optimisticΒ that this commission is willing to do things differently and to actually holdΒ utilitiesΒ accountable.βΒ
He said the IURC should have penalized AES for issues that plagued customers after the utility updated itsΒ billingΒ system inΒ 2023,Β including duplicated withdrawalsΒ for the same monthly bill.Β
The rate increase will take effect in two phases, with rates going up in JulyΒ 2026 and January 2027.Β AESΒ officialsΒ anticipateΒ the hikes βwill be less than $5 per month per phaseβ for a household that uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, according to a Wednesday news release from the utility.Β
βThe IURCβs decision reflects a thorough, transparent process and balances the need for continued investment in the electric system withΒ a focus on customer affordability,β the news releaseΒ stated.Β
Under a state law that Braun signed in February, AES cannot ask for another increase to its base rate until January 2030Β βΒ though electricity bills could still go up for other reasons, like the fuel adjustment charge hitting consumersΒ this month.Β
Three members of the five-member IURC signed off on the rate increase: Andy Zay, DavidΒ Veleta, and David Ziegner.Β CommissionerΒ Bob Deig dissented. Commissioner AnthonyΒ SwingerΒ recused himself from the decision because he worked on theΒ AESΒ rate case for the OUCCΒ before he was appointed to the IURC by Braun in January.Β
βNone of this was taken lightly,β Zay, the IURCβs chair, said at the Wednesday hearing, adding that the commission and its staff had carefully weighedΒ concerns about affordability. The commissioners did not go into further detail at the hearing.Β
But theΒ commissionβsΒ order shows some of theΒ debates that played outΒ duringΒ the rate case.Β One point of contention was AESβs authorized return on equityΒ βΒ that is, how much the utility can earn each year in profits.Β OtherΒ disputes hingedΒ onΒ how AES forecasts its operatingΒ expenses.Β
The OUCC accused AES of including more than 100 βphantom hires,” vacant positions it did not necessarily intend to fill in its calculations.Β Last year, AES said that the rising costs ofΒ vegetation management, or trimming trees around power lines, alsoΒ drove theΒ need to raise rates.Β The OUCC recommended keeping vegetation management costs flat.Β
One factorΒ thatβsΒ notΒ drivingΒ higher prices? Data centers.Β
AES does not currently provide service to any data centers and did not include themΒ in its calculations, AES president Brandi Davis-Handy said in testimony before the IURC.Β
Tilly Robinson is a Pulliam fellow for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at tilly.robinson@indystar.com.
Interactive radar | Weather alerts by county
WATCH LIVE COVERAGE
(WRTV) β A tornado watch has been issued through 1 a.m. EDT Thursday for much of Indiana, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said.
The watch area covers 47 of Indiana’s 92 counties, and includes Indianapolis and its surrounding counties.
Counties in the watch area are Bartholomew, Blackford, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Decatur, Delaware, Fountain, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jay, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Martin, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren, and White.
WRTV Meteorologist Ryan Morse says Wednesday afternoon’s rain was the first of two rounds coming to the Hoosier state. A line of supercells were expected to form in Illinois and travel into central Indiana.
In neighboring Illinois, dozens of counties are under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. CDT/11 p.m. EST.
All threats of severe weather were on the table: damaging wind, strong tornadoes, large hail, and flooding.
Severe storms should exit Indiana in the early morning hours.
WISH-TV Meteorologist Keith Gibson says people should have multiple ways of getting alerts and have electronic devices fully charged in case they lose power.
The next chance for rain after these storms could be on Saturday.
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